Chinese actress, 17, who is the daughter of ex-civil servant, wears earrings purportedly worth S$411,000, sparks backlash

Chinese actress Huang Yang Tian Tian, 17, is facing online backlash after she wore earrings, allegedly valued at 2.3 million yuan (S$411,000), to her school's coming-of-age ceremony.

Online commenters have accused her and her family of embezzling government funds, as her father was previously a civil servant in the Sichuan province.

One commenter, who claimed to be Huang's father, denied such allegations, saying the jewellery was fake and he had never embezzled such funds.

Huang says earrings were her mother's

The actress posted numerous photos of herself on Xiaohongshu and Weibo on May 11, showing her outfit and earrings.

She said she asked to borrow her mother's earrings, commenting that they were "really beautiful".

Online commenters soon pointed out that the earrings may have been from the British jewellery brand Graff and are suspected to be worth 2.3 million yuan (S$411,000).

As Huang's father was previously a civil servant and only resigned in 2017 to start his own business, the origins of his family's wealth was scrutinised.

Some also started accusing the family of pocketing donations for the 2013 Ya'an earthquake, claiming that her father was responsible for the bidding projects for the city's post-earthquake reconstruction.

Father denies the allegations

A user who claimed to be Huang's father denied the allegations of embezzlement, saying that the jewellery was not real and it was not as expensive as some claimed.

He added that he was willing to cooperate with relevant departments to dispute the allegations.

He also disputed rumours that he embezzled relief funds for the 2013 Ya'an earthquake, stating that he was never responsible for the bidding projects for the city's post-earthquake reconstruction.

"I promise that I have not committed any disciplinary or criminal acts during my work, let alone embezzled post-disaster reconstruction funds as some netizens have said," he said.

Huang's agency also released a statement on the matter, saying that the allegations were false and urged the public to stop spreading such rumours.

However, online commenters and local news outlets remain unconvinced, calling for greater transparency regarding the family's finances.

Top image via 黄杨钿甜/weibo