Chinese couple ‘leaves’ baby with nanny in exchange for wife’s ex-partner’s Rs 400 crore inheritance

The frequency of child desertion is higher than you may imagine. It is possible for someone to abandon a kid without thinking about their welfare, safety, or well-being. Despite being illegal, this behavior is still a little-studied social phenomenon. Until dramatic news stories appear to remind us that kids are still being abandoned in parks and on street corners, the topic of physical abandonment is seldom discussed. On one occasion, however, a couple decided to leave their kid in the care of a nanny, citing their impending inheritance of over Rs 470 crore (400 million yuan) from the wife’s former spouse.

A couple from Harbin, Heilongjiang province in northern China, reportedly tricked their kid’s caregiver with promises of a sizable inheritance before leaving their five-month-old infant with the nanny and disappearing. This information was reported by the South China Morning Post (SCMP). The pair hasn’t been seen in more than a month.

The nanny, Yu, told the news source that she had been promised a salary of 7,000 yuan (more than Rs 82,000) per month, but that she had not received any money for many months. Adding to her financial woes, she even lent the couple 50,000 yuan (more than Rs 5 lakh).

“I paid them all of my funds, but I haven’t gotten my pay since November of last year. They owe me the money that I took out on a loan from my brother. I’m still taking care of their kid even though I don’t have any money,” she said to Heilongjiang Radio and Television.

Yu claims that the pair used a variety of papers and pictures, including screenshots of what they said to be an inheritance that included gold, expensive watches, and safety deposit boxes, to persuade her of their coming prosperity. They then showed her a picture of a certificate purporting to be for a hotel they claimed to be the proprietors of in Harbin’s Daowai neighborhood.

But Yu’s attempts to confirm the facts raised doubts. After she was unable to get in touch with her employers, a closer look of the property certificate showed changes. The personnel at the hotel listed on the certificate denied knowing the identities of her employers when she called them.

According to SCMP, the nanny’s situation has sparked a wave of anger and compassion online, with many encouraging her to report the event to the police since they believe she may have been the victim of a sophisticated scam.