Chinese sister pretends to be dead sister and works at her job for 14 years before receiving a $55,000 pension

The woman, surnamed An, from Wuhai in northern China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, secretly resumed her sister’s work at a local factory after her sister died in a car accident in 1993.

It is not known whether the two women looked alike.

According to the Haibowan District People’s Court of Wuhai City, An worked at the factory until her retirement in 2007.

In January 2008, An, posing as her deceased sister, applied for retirement and received pension payments until April 2023.

During this period, An received a total of 393,676 yuan from pension funds.

When An was summoned by the police, he confessed to the crime, voluntarily pleaded guilty and repaid the money.

The Haibowan District People’s Court of Wuhai City found An guilty of fraud.

Based on her confession and restitution, the court eventually sentenced her to three years’ probation and a fine of 25,000 yuan (US$3,500).

However, the reactions on the Internet were largely positive.

Many people acknowledged that An had worked for 14 years, demonstrated her ability for the job and fulfilled her duties. In addition, the supervision of the factory was largely overlooked.

One online observer said: “Who would work for 14 years just for a pension? She just took a job. Working for 14 years proves she was capable of doing it.”

“She has neither paid less into social security nor worked less. Why shouldn’t she get a pension now that she is old? She is much more honest than those who hold official positions and yet receive a high salary without working,” said another.

A third person said: “The sister has been impersonating her for over a decade to get a salary. I don’t think there’s much wrong with that. It used to be acceptable to replace someone at work.”

“Similar situations have happened quite often in the past. She was just unlucky to get caught, someone probably reported her,” said another person.

Many also referred to the historical “replacement system” in China, a well-known phenomenon from the 1950s to the 1980s in which children replaced their retired or resigned parents in the workplace.

Although this system was abolished in the late 1980s as part of the transition to a market economy and the introduction of fair and competitive employment systems, it solved many employment problems at that time.