‘Fake' Yang Lanlan Confessed The Shocking Twist in the 1M Rolls-Royce Case

The case involving Chinese tycoon Yang Lanman, who recently caused injuries to others while driving under the influence, has taken a new turn. Australian media have discovered that a woman suspected of impersonating Yang Lanman presented herself at a police station. Australian police are now investigating the woman's identity. Previously, there were rumors that last November, during an official visit to Australia by Zhao Leiji, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party, a body double scheme was carried out. The real Yang Lanman was allegedly sent back to China while a stand-in remained in Australia. So is the woman now stepping forward to take the blame, actually the rumored body double? Let's take a closer look in today's program. Did a fake Yang Lanman report to the police? Under her bail conditions, Yang Lanman is required to report weekly to the Rose Bay Police Station and to reside at her luxury penthouse apartment in Watson's Bay. At around 5.15pm on January 14th, a young Asian woman with a petite, slim build arrived at the police station in a black Rolls Royce Ghost convertible. The driver was a tattooed man. The woman was dressed in a Chanel top and jeans, wearing sunglasses and a face mask. From her style to her physique, she closely resembled Yang Lanman, making it almost impossible at first glance to tell real from fake. She went straight to the front desk, reported in, and identified herself as Yang Lanman. At the police's request, she removed her mask so officers could compare her face with the photo on file. Throughout the process, she appeared extremely calm and police detected nothing unusual. She therefore completed the bail check-in according to procedure, collected the paperwork, and left the station. However, reporters from the Daily Mail had been waiting nearby and stopped her. Suspecting something was amiss, a journalist asked directly, Are you Lanman or someone else? Realizing she'd been exposed, the woman answered candidly, I'm someone else. When asked if she could reveal who she was, she replied, No. A senior police officer said authorities are now investigating the woman's identity and will verify on Thursday, January 15th, whether Yang Lanman is still residing at the Watson's Bay apartment. The officer emphasized that if the allegations are true, this would constitute a very serious offense. Yang Lanman's lawyer has been contacted for comment. So far, Yang Lanman's case has dragged on for six months. In four court appearances, she has never appeared in person, participating only via video link. Even when occasionally photographed by the media, she has always worn a mask, leaving the public with little clear impression of her actual appearance. On November 14th last year, during the fourth court hearing, Yang Lanman's lawyer, Michael Korn, arrived late and cited severe mental health issues, claiming she was under intense media pressure and suffering extreme anxiety. He requested that his client be excused from appearing in person, and the request was granted. On her behalf, the lawyer entered not guilty pleas to all charges and stated that the defense would rely on expert testimony and request a police brief of evidence. New South Wales police were required to submit this material by January 9th, and the case was adjourned until January 30th. While awaiting trial, Yang Lanman has remained free on bail under unchanged conditions, including regular reporting to her local police station. Her lawyer also disclosed that the defense was considering negotiating a civil compensation settlement with the victims, with rumored figures exceeding ought 4.6 millions, though the criminal proceedings would continue independently. Notably, the lawyer also requested that Yang Lanman be allowed to skip the January 30th hearing, and this request was ultimately approved. Yang Lanman's lawyer later told the media that his client had received no special treatment in the judicial process, while sidestepping questions about her personal background and whether she has any connections to senior officials of the Chinese Communist Party. Last July, Yang Lanman was driving a supercar the wrong way down the road when she collided with a Mercedes, seriously injuring the other driver. She has been charged with four offenses, drink driving, dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm, refusing a breath test, and failing to provide full details to police. The maximum combined sentence could reach up to seven years in prison. Since her arrest, Yang Lanman has frequently been seen traveling in a white Toyota Alphard, driven and escorted by security guards, and has been photographed by the media on multiple occasions. However, during the police check-in on January 14th, the person who reported in on her behalf was driven by a different chauffeur. She told the Daily Mail that the black Rolls-Royce Ghost did not belong to her. Over the past six months, Yang Lanman has gone to great lengths to prevent the public from seeing her face. The only time she was photographed without a mask was on September 3rd last year, when she went to lunch with a female friend at Canvas Restaurant. She was wearing an LV jacket, work-style pants, and Hermes ankle boots, with the total value of her outfit exceeding USD $11,000. She arrived at the restaurant without a mask, but while eating, she alternated between a white mask and a black open-mouth mask that allowed her to eat while wearing it. On October 22nd last year, movers were seen frequently entering and leaving Yang Lanman's penthouse apartment in Watson's Bay, removing all of the furnishings. Neighbors peeking through partially opened curtains reported that the apartment was completely empty, with no one living there anymore. Even the white Rolls-Royce Ghost convertible, worth $800,000 that had been parked in the garage, had disappeared. Rumors quickly spread that Yang Lanman had fled, but in reality, she was not permitted to leave Australia and had surrendered her passport. However, her bail conditions did not explicitly prohibit her from going to the airport or other departure points. At the fourth court hearing on November 14th, Yang Lanman did not appear. Shortly afterward, Zhao Leji, the third most powerful figure in the Chinese Communist Party and a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, as well as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, paid an official visit to Australia from November 22nd to 25th. At first glance, Zhao Leji's visit and Yang Lanman's disappearance seemed unrelated. However, on November 28th, a self-media account called Niken, which claimed to be run by a retired senior official from Beijing, alleged that Zhao Leji's trip had two purposes. First, to ensure the Yang Lanman case would not affect high-level cooperation between the two countries, and second, to bring Yang Lanman back to China. According to these claims, during Zhao Leji's visit, the Chinese side requested unprecedented security measures, raising widespread suspicion. It was reported that Wi-Fi connections were intermittently shut down in certain areas along the Chinese delegation's route inside Parliament House. The rest areas and offices used by Zhao Leji and his entourage were kept with doors and curtains tightly closed to ensure privacy. Niken further claimed that Beijing had conveyed its position clearly. Whatever compensation was required for the accident victims, Yang Lanman's family would pay in full, on the condition that Yang Lanman be returned to China. If it seemed problematic for the suspect to be absent, a fake Yang Lanman could be left behind as a bargaining chip. These allegations cannot be independently verified, but the sudden appearance of a stand-in has inevitably led the public to ask whether the rumors are now being borne out. Under Australian criminal law, anyone who deliberately provides false statements or information to police or the courts may face a prison sentence of up to seven years, depending on the seriousness of the offense. In this case, the impersonating woman removed her mask at the police station and was checked against Yang Lanman's photo on file, leaving two possibilities. One, that the woman who later claimed she was not Yang Lanman is in fact Yang Lanman herself, and lied only to avoid speaking to the media. Or two, that she truly is not Yang Lanman, but bears such a strong resemblance that she managed to deceive the police. If impersonation is ultimately confirmed, both the impersonator and the real Yang Lanman would According to the rumors, Zhao Liji could easily have mixed Yang Lanman into his delegation and openly taken her back to China, and it would be even less difficult for the CCP to create a new identity for her. This so-called fake Yang Lanman may therefore be someone deliberately arranged in advance to take the fall and be sacrificed. Given Yang Lanman's enormous wealth and the alleged power behind her, such a scenario cannot be ruled out. What do you think? Was that woman the real Yang Lanman, or a double? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. Questions Surrounding Yang Lanman's Background Still in her early 20s, Yang Lanman already owns two top-tier supercars. Her everyday wardrobe consists entirely of luxury brands, and even her pets are dressed in Chanel. Yet her true background remains shrouded in mystery. The fact that someone can remain this enigmatic in itself suggests a form of power. Previously, some netizens claimed that Yang Lanman's real name is Shi Minglan, born in 2002 in Hangzhou. According to these claims, her mother was an actress with the Zhejiang Xiaobaihuayue Opera Troupe, and the doctor who delivered her was Huang Hefeng, then president of the children's hospital affiliated with Zhejiang University. Netizens pointed out that Shi Jinping's daughter is named Shi Mingzhe, and that the name Shi Minglan naturally invites association with Shi Jinping. Coincidentally, in 2002, Shi Jinping was transferred to Zhejiang, where he served as deputy party secretary of the province and acting governor. In fact, Australia has long been regarded as a haven for the Shi family. Before the establishment of the Global Tax Reporting Mechanism under the CRS framework, Australia was a key destination for asset allocation by the Shi family and other elite red aristocrat families in China. At the time, Australia offered a stable legal system, relatively relaxed investment and immigration policies, and generous tax advantages for holders of overseas assets. Back in the 1990s, Shi Jinping's younger brother, Shi Wanping, left politics and moved into business, working at PetroChina. While serving as a director of PetroChina's Hong Kong operations, he managed to obtain Hong Kong residency before 1997. Not long afterward, Shi Wanping, together with Shi Jinping's second elder sister, Chi Anan, and her husband Wu Long, obtained Australian permanent residency. Today, Shi Jinping's second sister's family reportedly lives in Melbourne. The family of Chi Ruixin, the younger brother of Shi Jinping's mother, Chi Xin, also emigrated to Australia. Chi Ruixin once served as Party Secretary of China National Gold Group Corporation and as Party Secretary of the Gold Command of the Armed Police. His son, Chi Ming, Shi Jinping's cousin, was once arrested by Australian police on suspicion of money laundering. In internal documents from Crown Melbourne Casino later released by police, Chi Ming was listed as a VVIP customer. Records show that over an 18-month period, starting in June 2012, he spent approximately an odd $41 million, placing him among the casino's top 50 highest spending patrons. Although there is no conclusive evidence in the public imagination, Yang Lanlan has gradually become linked to the Shi family through a steady stream of circulating claims. The Shi family in Australia is said to live an extraordinarily lavish lifestyle, rivaling that of Zheng Wei, the son of former Politburo Standing Committee member Zheng Qinghong. After Zheng Wei and his wife emigrated to Australia in 2007, they spent an odd $32.4 million in 2008 to purchase a 1,100-square-meter mansion in Sydney built in 1908, reportedly the second most expensive residential property in Australia at the time. Initially, few people paid attention to the purchase. However, accustomed to acting with impunity in China, the couple sought to demolish the historic mansion and rebuild it, planning to spend an additional odd $5 million. This sparked public outrage locally and caused a nationwide uproar across Australia. In addition, Chen Ji, the so-called electric shock tycoon who was recently deported from Cambodia back to China, is believed to be the overseas asset manager for the Shi family. Canadian-based democracy activist Cheng Shui revealed that Chen Ji is the nephew of Guangdong Party Secretary Huang Kunming. According to her, the electric shock business was merely a side venture. Chen Ji's main role was laundering money for China's political elite. He was responsible for managing assets and laundering funds for the Fujian faction of the Chinese Communist Party, as well as for Xi Jinping's eldest sister, Qi Chaoqiao. As a trusted aide of Qi Chaoqiao, Chen Ji was reportedly able to directly contact the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Shi family's base in Shenzhen, the Yingbin Guesthouse. Qi Chaoqiao is alleged to have built a vast business empire, together with her husband Deng Jiagui, with total assets estimated in the hundreds of billions. Ahead of the fourth plenary session of the Central Committee, several former CEOs and chairmen of Vanki were arrested in reportedly amid suspicions of internal power struggles within the CCP. Vanki and its major shareholder, Shenzhen Metro, have also been rumored to have close ties to Qi Chaoqiao. Xi Jinping speaks loudly about fighting corruption. But if corruption within his own family remains untouched, how can other officials be expected to stop being corrupt? What do you think about the case of Yang Lanlan? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. Thank you for watching and see you next time.