China sister pretends to be dead sibling, works her job for 14 years before receiving US$55,000 pension

The woman, surnamed An, from Wuhai in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, northern China, secretly resumed her sister’s work at a local factory following her death in a car accident in 1993.

It is not known if the two women looked alike.

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

In January 2008, posing as her deceased sister, An processed her retirement and began to receive pension payments, continuing until April 2023.

Over the period, An received a total of 393,676 yuan in pension funds.

Summoned by the police, An confessed to the crime and voluntarily pleaded guilty and repaid the money.

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

As a result of her confession and restitution, the court finally sentenced her to three years in prison suspended for four years, plus a fine of 25,000 yuan (US$3,500).

However, online reactions have been largely sympathetic.

Many people recognised An worked for 14 years, demonstrated her capability for the job and fulfilled her duties. In addition, the factory’s oversight was largely overlooked.

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

“She didn’t pay less into social security, nor did she work less. Why shouldn’t she receive the pension now that she’s old? She is much more honest than those who hold official positions yet collect a high salary without working,” said another.

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

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

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

Although this system was phased out in the late 1980s with the shift towards a market economy and the values of fair and competitive employment, it resolved many employment issues at the time.