One Chinese teenager was arrested recently while in pursuit of his China Dream of becoming a wealthy beggar in Dubai.
The 16-year-old boy from Sichuan province was detained at the Dubai airport after stowing away inside an Emirates Airlines flight that took off from Shanghai on May 26th, Sohu reports. He told local police that his nearly 10-hour flight inside the plane’s cargo compartment was fairly comfy though the in-flight service could have been better. No word yet on how he actually managed to evade security at Pudong International Airport and sneak on board.
However, he did reveal to police that he had come to Dubai to try his hand at begging on its golden streets. He had apparently heard news reports that in Dubai even the worst beggars could earn 480,000 yuan ($72,900) a month without breaking a sweat.
Since he is a juvenile, he will likely not face any serious consequences for his actions, though police are looking into any sort of gang affiliation. If they do turn up something, it’s not the end of the world, the teenager says that he also has heard that Dubai prisons are rather nice.
He is expected to be deported and banned from entering Dubai again. Which is probably for the best because begging is technically illegal in the UAE anyway.
Instead, if you really want to immigrate to Dubai then you’ll have to get in the old-fashioned way, by besting hundreds of other women to win a blind date with a millionaire Dubai bachelor.