Wang Sicong, the only son of China’s richest property tycoon, Wang Jianlin has been arrested in Shanghai. Photo: Baidu
Wang Sicong – the only son of Chinese property tycoon Wang Jianlin – has reportedly been arrested following a street fracas in Shanghai on January 11.
Police in China’s most populous city reported that a 34-year-old man, surnamed Wang, along with three other men, punched another man, surnamed Chen, on West Nanjing Road, one of Shanghai’s busiest shopping streets.
According to details from the police released on Weibo on January 12, the brawl broke out after Wang and the other three accused Chen of taking sneak photos of them.
It is alleged that Wang and one of the other men he was with, punched Chen in the face and broke his nose.
The police fined Wang 500 yuan (US$74) and initially placed him under a seven-day administrative arrest, the execution of which was reprieved after Wang filed a reconsideration application.
Authoritative sources later confirmed that the Wang named in an earlier release of information was Wang Sicong, the Beijing News reported. Shanghai police have neither confirmed nor denied this.
Dubbed the “richest son of China”, Wang is notorious for his playboy persona and wealth-flaunting behaviour.
It is not the first time the former Weibo influencer has got himself into similar hot water.
In 2016, he was accused by Chinese internet celebrity Wu Di of beating a Beijing woman with his gang on a street in South Korea.
Wang responded to Wu’s Weibo post threatening to “beat you every time I see you”.
In April 2022, Wang’s Weibo account, with 40 million followers, was removed due to a “violation of related laws and regulations”, after he openly questioned the efficacy of Lianhua Qingwen, China’s state-sanctioned traditional Chinese medicine for treating Covid-19.
He was educated in Singapore and the UK from primary school to university and returned to China in 2009, becoming a public figure.
Wang was once given the social media nickname of “China’s most eligible bachelor” and “the people’s husband” for his great wealth and straightforward character.
