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Fran Lu

A “delusional” man has been detained by police in China trying to deposit hell money into an ATM machine.
The joss paper, made to resemble legal banknotes, is not an official form of recognised currency and is traditionally burned as an offering to the deceased.
The man’s bizarre attempted deposit emerged after police in eastern China’s Jiangxi province received a report from a bank that one of its ATM machines had broken down.
After checking footage from a surveillance video installed on the machine, officers tracked the man, surnamed Zheng, down and arrested him.
He said the idea occurred to him because he was “running out of money”.
The surveillance footage shows him depositing a pile of hell money into the bank’s ATM machine at 5am on July 4.

Inevitably, the machine crashed because the notes were the wrong size.
Undaunted, Zheng made his way to another ATM to see if his balance had been enhanced.
Zheng was placed under administrative custody, the police said on July 19.
The concept of hell money has been around in China since ancient times but first appeared in the form of banknotes in the early 20th century.
China’s Regulations on the Administration of Renminbi, the nation’s official currency, ban the use of its patterns on hell money.
Mainland social media was highly amused by Zheng’s “delusional” whimsy.
“What a big dream and a harsh reality,” said one online observer.
“Actually his balance did increase, but he will have to spend it after he dies,” quipped another.
The incident also reminded people of a recent case involving money and the supernatural world.
Mainland media outlet Jimu News reported that a villager, also from Jiangxi province, stole cash from a temple’s donation box on July 14.
After the police arrested the culprit, surnamed Ye, he tried to wriggle out of his tight spot by claiming that he had been given permission to “borrow” the money.

Ye said each time before he took the money, the temple’s Buddha statues okayed his actions with a hand gesture.
It is thought that the gesture he was referring to resembles that of one in the Buddhist faith.
Ye said he often did his laundry next to a pond near the temple, and after learning that the donation box was unlocked and unguarded, he had been taking money out of it for about a month.
He was placed under a 12-day administrative custody by the police.


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‘Delusional deposit’: cash-strapped man in China tries to boost bank balance by feeding hell money into ATM, caught after trying to check balance

A hapless man in China who tried to deposit hell money at an ATM, crashing the machine, was caught when he went to another hole in the wall to check if his balance had been enhanced. Photo: SCMP composite

A ‘delusional’ man in China has been arrested by police after he tried to feed hell money into an ATM to boost his bank balance. Photo: SCMP composite

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The man was caught after police reviewed footage from a video camera installed at the ATM. Photo: Baidu

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Down on his luck, man makes bizarre attempt to boost bank balance by trying to deposit hell money into ATM
Machine crashes but hapless depositor moves on to another hole-in-the-wall to see if his balance has been enhanced, leading to his arrest


Mainland social media has been highly amused by the story of a hapless man in China who tried to deposit hell money at an ATM in a bizarre bid to boost his bank balance.
