Recently, the auction information from a court in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province has caught public attention. The item up for auction is a bottle of Sprite soda with a starting price of 4.2 yuan. The owner of the Sprite is a millionaire entrepreneur, who after going bankrupt, had his assets auctioned off by the court to repay debts. This news has sparked outrage among netizens, criticizing the court for “wasting judicial resources”.
In a recent announcement on an auction platform by the Da Feng District Court in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, a variety of low-priced small items have drawn public interest, including a bottle of Sprite valued at 6 yuan in the market, being auctioned for 4.2 yuan.
The auction information notes that the items can only be self-collected and does not support mailing, leaving many netizens astonished by the court auctioning such low-priced items.
On the afternoon of September 22, the Yangzi Evening News reported that one of the owners of the large bottle of Sprite soda is the legal representative of a biological technology company and a marine food company in Jiangsu, with registered capital of 5 million RMB and 1.725 million USD respectively, totaling over tens of millions RMB in registered capital.
One of the defendants, Mr. Chen, explained that the companies have already gone bankrupt. Following the bankruptcy, the court began auctioning off his personal assets to repay debts.
Mr. Chen stated that he has no more assets available for execution. Looking towards the future, Mr. Chen still hopes to be able to make positive changes.
A search revealed that in the past auction records of the Da Feng District Court in Yancheng, items such as expired glass cleaner for 4.08 RMB, a weighing scale for 5 RMB, and a vegetable washing basin for 7 RMB have also been auctioned.
Many netizens have criticized this as a waste of public resources and judicial resources. Some commented, “It’s a show”, “It’s ridiculous. Is it for fun?”, “This is absurd! Are they looking for joy?”, “In this magical country, the farce is endless”, “Doing ridiculous things professionally”, “Wasting judicial resources with a full stomach”. Some sarcastically remarked, “After investigating the prices of a bottle of Sprite, a set of screwdrivers, and a weighing scale in one day, they put them up for auction at 18 RMB and receive a salary of 300.” They suggested, “The year-end summary could be written on how many cases were processed, so that the staff have a reasonable workload and salary.”
A netizen from Liaoning, “[Name]”, expressed that this is a waste of public resources. “The defendant in this case had a registered capital of over tens of millions of RMB for the companies. Even if all the items are auctioned off after bankruptcy, some small items worth a few yuan or a dozen yuan are not worth auctioning off through legal means.”
“[Name]” stated, “Considering there are so many pending cases that need to be processed, instead of exerting efforts to recover insignificant losses in one case, it would be more beneficial to try to recover most of the losses in more cases as much as possible.”
The netizen pointed out that the once prosperous entrepreneur now entangled in financial difficulties, shows the dramatic ups and downs of fate, revealing the harsh and unpredictable nature of the business world to the public.
They mentioned that this incident is not just a personal economic tragedy, but also a reflection of the changing business environment. In recent years, with economic fluctuations, many businesses are facing challenges such as the breakdown of the financial chain and loss of customers, especially in some consumer goods sectors where competition is intensifying, leading to previously successful companies not being spared. This phenomenon becomes more prominent against the backdrop of an overall economic downturn and weak consumer spending in society.