Lan Zhanfei: Millionaire Chinese influencer held at knifepoint in five-star Cape Town hotel

Exclusive: Chinese celebrity mainland game streamer and influencer, Lan Zhanfei, who has over 24 million followers and is a millionaire, was robbed at knifepoint by two black men who pretended to be fans inside a five-star hotel in the City CBD on Monday.

According to police, a case of house robbery was registered after Zhanfei was robbed and threatened by the two men.

Police spokesperson, Constable Ndakhe Gwala confirmed the case: "This office confirms that Cape Town Central police registered a case of House robbery yesterday (December 8) following an incident that occurred at a hotel in Cape Town.

"The case was transferred to provincial serious violent crime detectives for further investigation."

According to english.dotdotnews.com, Zhanfei reported that he was held at knifepoint for four to five hours by one assailant and two black accomplices inside his room at a five-star hotel in Cape Town.

The site said according to Lan's social media account, the robbers had allegedly plotted the attack for six months.

The site claims their initial attempt to approach him at the airport, disguised as fans, failed.

They then carried out a nighttime abduction in his hotel room.

Lan noted that his decision to use an official taxi likely prevented a more dangerous ambush.

The site further claims the assailants allegedly bribed airport and hotel staff to track his movements and that they attempted to force him to transfer money and apply for online loans.

The newsite further added they collected biological evidence—fingerprints, hair, and semen—to use in fabricating a "rape" case as a threat to deter him from reporting the crime.

It said following the incident, Zhanfei immediately informed domestic authorities and the Chinese embassy.

However, he was advised that the chances of solving the case were extremely low, and the primary reason for reporting was to safeguard against being framed.

Cape Argus understands the TikToker, who went from a game booster with a monthly salary of 3000 yuan to a top streamer. Now he earns an annual interest of R2 million alone and owns seven companies under his name. He also apparently earns his annual revenue from live-streaming sales with only 50 million yuan.

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Cape Argus