A teenager from Sichuan province in Southwest China was detained by police in the United Arab Emirates for illegally entering the country with the intention of becoming a beggar.
The youth, identified only as Xu, 16, from Bazhong, jumped fences at an airport in Shanghai on Thursday and sneaked into the cargo hold of an Airbus A380 passenger plane.
He hid there until it landed in Dubai more than nine hours later. He was quickly arrested by police, according to Mian Jinlong, a Chinese interpreter working in Dubai.
"It was the first time somebody of such a young age had managed to illegally enter the United Arab Emirates by hiding in the cargo hold of a plane," Mian, who acted as a translator for Xu in speaking with the police, was quoted as saying by Chengdu Economic Daily.
Xu reportedly told the police that a viral post on social media app WeChat had motivated him to go to Dubai. The post claimed that a beggar there could rake in up to 470,000 yuan ($71,400) a month, or 16,000 yuan a day.
It prompted some netizens to joke that they would resign from their jobs and go to Dubai to become beggars.
After discovering Xu, the airport police contacted the Chinese consulate in Dubai, which offered assistance.
Staff at the consulate are now exploring whether the Emirates has a law for the protection of minors, according to Ma Xuliang, acting consul general.
He said Chinese nationals should not be taken in by rumors about begging in Dubai, as the practice is illegal and anyone doing it will be punished.
Xu, who is being held at the Dubai airport, could be punished for endangering aviation safety and trespassing.
He is in a stable condition but looks haggard, Mian told the newspaper on Tuesday.
