Philippines: Teenage K-Pop fan steals nearly 2 million pesos from grandma to buy merch

A social media post about the shocking incident went viral overnight, raking in over 90,000 reactions and 71,000 shares in less than 24 hours

By Web Desk

Published: Sun 5 Mar 2023, 1:35 PM

K-Pop fans around the world are known to go all out when it comes to showing their love for the Korean groups and artists they stan. One young Filipino girl, however, has gone as far as stealing from her family's business to buy rare photo cards, albums, and all other memorabilia featuring her idols.

Her haul was believed to be worth more than 2 million pesos (about Dh140,000), according to a Facebook post shared by popular Philippine news magazine show Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho (KMJS), which is set to air the story tonight.

"I became a K-Pop fan in 2017, when I discovered BTS through my classmates," said the girl identified as Bea (not her real name).

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"I used to buy piece by piece back then, until I started seeing incredible collections on TikTok," she added, as quoted by KMJS.

Bea said she was initially using her allowance to buy some merchandise which would cost around 300 pesos (Dh20) to 400 pesos (Dh27) each — and then she started buying more, getting her hands on some incredibly expensive items.

And when she ran out of money, she turned to her grandma's cash register. Bea was then helping in their family business so she was able to access the cash, according to a relative who spoke to KJMS.

She kept pocketing more money to fund her collection — until boxes upon boxes of merch started piling up in her closet, without her family knowing what was going on.

Here's a look at her collection, as shared on Facebook:

Photo Credit: Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho

One day, a family member discovered the mountain of merch hidden at the back Bea's cabinet. They couldn't believe it, according to the KJMS post.

"She had one photo card that was worth 50,000 pesos (Dh3,300)," the relative identified as Jasmine said. The shocking discovery prompted Bea to confess.

Since January, the family noticed that they were losing much as 2.7 million pesos in their business.

"That's why we really think she had spent at least 2 million pesos on all these items," Jasmine told KJMS.

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