A Hong Kong mother reported her 13-year-old daughter to police after discovering nearly $50,000 had allegedly been taken from the family and donated to online influencers.
Many fans support their favorite streamers through subscriptions and donations, but this case has drawn attention because of the amount involved.
According to local outlet Headline Daily, the girl, identified only as Yao, allegedly took a key to a family safe from her mother's handbag multiple times between April and June. Authorities claim she removed HK$380,000 (around $48,500 USD) from the safe and used the money to send gifts and donations to influencers on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu.
Her parents discovered the missing funds on June 12 and contacted police. The teenager was later arrested on suspicion of theft.
The case is the latest example of large sums of money being spent on online creators. In a separate incident reported in China in 2024, a man allegedly sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to a streamer and stole from his workplace to finance the donations.