Chinese game Lan Zhanfei denies staging Cape Town robbery

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

Social media went abuzz following this announcement, with claims that he faked his own "kidnapping and robbery."

Zhanfei has since refuted this.

According to police, a case of house robbery was registered after Zhanfei who uses the handle@lanzhenfei, was robbed and threatened.

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 news 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 news site 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.

Another popular international blogger took to her Facebook account, Leliana Jovita Radithya stating Zhanfei did not stage his robbery incident: "He did not fabricate drama for attention."

Josh Gardner, CEO @Kung Fu Data/Building Brands in China said it seemed the incident was fake: "Police showed up. It was a prop warehouse. No crime scene. Just a publicity stunt. Maybe. He now claims he was "hacked."