She went to work secretly: a woman pretended to be her deceased sister for 14 years (2 photos)

Over all these years, the woman received almost 400,000 yuan (55 thousand US dollars) in social benefits from the state.





A woman surnamed An from the city of Wuhai in northern China secretly worked at the factory in place of her sister after her death in a car accident. The woman hoped to receive an old-age pension in this way.

According to the local district court, An worked at the plant until her retirement in 2007 and has since received nearly 400,000 yuan ($55,000) in social benefits.

Although the defendant pleaded guilty, she was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for four years, and a fine of 25,000 yuan ($3,500).



Many netizens began to stand up for the woman, because she worked conscientiously and fulfilled her duties before entering her “well-deserved” retirement.

"She paid social security contributions and worked like everyone else. Why is she being deprived of her pension now that she is already old? This woman is more honest than those who hold official positions, but receive a high salary, although they do nothing," wrote one from users.

A second added: "My sister posed as a relative for over ten years to get paid. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. It's absolutely normal practice to replace someone at work."

“Cases like this were quite common in the past. She was just unlucky. Someone must have reported it,” said a third.

Someone in the comments also recalled the "replacement system" in China, where from the 1950s to the 1980s children went to work in place of their parents who had retired or quit. Later, this opportunity was canceled as part of the country's transition from a planned economy to a market economy.