If you had to make a choice between receiving many presents or wads of cash, which would you pick?
For 29-year-old Thai-Chinese star Sirilak Kwong aka Lingling Kwong, she didn’t need to make a choice.
Lingling was born and bred in Hong Kong and she propelled to fame after starring in 2024 Thai GL drama The Secret of Us with Thai star Orm.
Recently, Lingling and Orm, who are known collectively as LingOrm to their fans, held their first fan meet in Thailand and they were showered by gifts from fans all over the world.
Among the gifts were stacks and stacks and stacks and stacks of cash.
According to reports, fans from Hong Kong and China had prepared 2mil yuan (S$367K) in cash. And that’s not including the amount given by their fans from Thailand and other countries.
Question: Is this considered taxable income?
On top of that, the stars also received items from luxury brands like Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Loewe and Chanel from their Thai fans.
Netizens were shocked by how generous Lingling’s fans are.
“She received more than a million dollars, she might not even earn that much money from filming for a few years,” read one comment.
Other netizens also pointed out that such behaviour is the norm in Thailand, as fans believe that giving cash would usually mean having a higher chance in meeting their idols.