A Chinese teenager in search of the high life managed to travel to the United Arab Emirates after hiding in the cargo hold of a passenger plane.
The 16-year-old from Sichuan province vaulted over fences at Shanghai's Pudong airport and concealed himself in the hold of an Emirates plane waiting on the tarmac, successfully evading a security guard along the way.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Xu apparently told investigators he wanted to make his fortune as he had heard that beggars in the city could make 470,000 yuan (£49,300) a month.
Social media posts claiming that beggars in Dubai make up to 9,000 dirham (£1,700) every day have recently gone viral in China, says the People's Daily. However, Ma Xuliang, from the Chinese Consulate in the city, told the newspaper that such rumours are baseless as the United Arab Emirates "has strict laws banning begging".
Xu's current status is unknown, but an interpreter in Dubai told the People's Daily that the teenager could be deported and banned from returning to the UAE.
A spokesperson for Emirates confirmed that a stowaway had been discovered on board flight EK303 from Shanghai to Dubai. The airline said it was "co-operating fully" with authorities, adding: "As this is a police matter we are unable to comment further at this time."
-
11 hotels opening in 2026 to help you reconnect with natureThe Week Recommends Find peace on the beaches of Mexico and on a remote Estonian island
-
Zimbabwe’s driving crisisUnder the Radar Southern African nation is experiencing a ‘public health disaster’ with one of the highest road fatality rates in the world
-
The Mint’s 250th anniversary coins face a whitewashing controversyThe Explainer The designs omitted several notable moments for civil rights and women’s rights
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
