Employee who supposedly won iPhone at company party felt ‘humiliated’ after finding tiles & candy inside box
The feeling of bliss turned into frustration after a man in China won what was announced as an “iPhone 17 Pro Max” at his company’s annual party, only to discover ceramic tiles and candy inside the sealed box.
Mr Hou (name transliterated from Mandarin), who works for a company in Guangdong, shared a video online detailing what had happened at his company’s annual meeting.
Man wins phone after participating in company’s lucky draw
According to him, the company had organised a large celebration on Thursday (5 Feb) ahead of the Lunar New Year to thank employees for their hard work.
Prizes included cash red packets and iPhones worth over RMB10,000 (S$1,832).
Source: Dafeng News
Mr Hou said every employee had a chance to go on stage for the lucky draw. When his name was called, he was shocked to win the iPhone 17 Pro Max costing RMB9,988 (S$1,830).
The host reportedly announced the prize with much fanfare, and the company’s boss personally handed him the sealed iPhone box on stage, drawing envious looks from colleagues.
Finds candy and ceramic tiles instead of iPhone
Mr Hou did not open the box at the venue. Instead, he brought it home and asked his wife to open it, recording the unboxing to capture the moment.
Source: Anhui News
However, when the box was opened, they found candy and two ceramic tiles inside instead of a phone.
An invoice for a S$1,830 iPhone was also found in the box.
He later noticed black tape at the bottom of the box securing the tiles in place. As the contents did not rattle or shift, he had not suspected anything earlier.
Source: Anhui News
Mr Hou said he felt cheated and publicly embarrassed, describing the incident as deeply humiliating.
Event planner allegedly swapped items as prank
The following day, Mr Hou contacted the person in charge at the company.
He was initially told that they were unaware of any issue and believed the prize to be genuine.
Source: Dafeng News
It was later reported that the event planner admitted to secretly swapping the iPhone without the knowledge of the company boss or other staff.
The planner allegedly claimed it was meant as a prank to liven up the atmosphere and was not targeted specifically at Mr Hou.
Company apologises and gives real phone
Netizens also questioned the authenticity of the invoice found in the box.
While it carried a 12-digit serial number, reports said the format did not match genuine Apple documentation, raising suspicions that it may have been forged.
Source: Dafeng News
Mr Hou said he was not fixated on receiving the phone itself, but wanted a sincere apology for being deceived in front of his colleagues.
A source later said the company officially apologised to him and provided him with a genuine phone.
Also read: Man in M’sia orders S$1.4K cash bouquet for wife, she finds only S$340 worth of money
Man in M’sia orders S$1.4K cash bouquet for wife, she finds only S$340 worth of money
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Featured image adapted from Dafeng News via QQ News.
