In China, a man ended up paying an extra fine after paying a 10,000 yuan (US$1,400) fine entirely in coins. Authorities considered this method a waste of judicial resources, leading to the additional penalty.
According to the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP), Mr. Wan was initially fined 20,000 yuan (US$ 2,800) in March for failing to fulfill his legal obligations.
He paid 10,000 yuan in coins.
Mr. Wan submitted a bag filled with coins and old banknotes to a court in Sichuan Province in southwest China.
The problem arose when court officials and bank employees spent nearly three hours counting the money. Reports indicated that 1,400 yuan (US$190) of the coins Mr. Wan submitted were so severely damaged they were unusable.
As a result, a Chinese court imposed an additional fine of 2,000 yuan (US$275) on Mr. Wan. The court cited his lack of a reasonable explanation for paying his original fine in coins and the resulting waste of judicial resources as reasons for the extra penalty.
The incident triggered diverse reactions on social media across mainland China, with comments ranging from “The reason for the extra fine is ridiculous” to “This must be possible because it’s a communist country” and “It looks like there’s a law against being annoying in China.”
