Mystery Rolls-Royce driver in crash stirs rumours in Australia and China

Talk of young Chinese woman driver having possible links to China's elite

- Jonathan Pearlman and Wing Kuang

SYDNEY - In early August, a tantalising post on the online Chinese forum Zhihu asked the question that has sparked a swirl of rumours from Sydney to Beijing: "What are your thoughts about Chinese Australian Lanlan Yang?"

The post — which was later deleted but was captured in an apparent screenshot — provided intriguing, though unconfirmed, details about Lanlan Yang, a mysterious 23-year-old in Australia, and her possible links to China's elite.

Yang attracted widespread attention after crashing a A$1 million (S$834,000) blue Rolls-Royce while allegedly drunk in the affluent Sydney suburb of Rose Bay at around 3.20am on July 26.

The collision left another driver injured and resulted in Yang facing criminal charges. Her next court hearing is on Sept 26, though she is not required to appear.

According to the screenshot of the post on Zhihu, China's largest knowledge-sharing and Q&A platform, Yang is from a family that oversees the quotas of Australia's vast iron ore exports to China.

The deletion of the post prompted further speculation about whether the person who posted it may have been approached by the Chinese authorities.

In Australia, the case has generated intense interest about the mysterious Yang among the Chinese-Australian community. It has prompted questions about the source of her apparent fortunes and the vast wealth gap between China's elite — and their globe-trotting, big-spending family members — and the broader population.

In the Sydney suburb of Chatswood, a woman who has lived in Australia for 30 years and was enjoying bubble tea with her husband said: "Oh, are you talking about the car crash lady? We just saw the news that she might be related to someone important in China."

Like other members of the Chinese community approached, she did not want to provide her name for privacy reasons.