Traditionally, elders give money to the young during the Spring Festival in a bid to bring them bliss and joy in the new Chinese Lunar Year. But sometimes, an act associated with family happiness leads to strife and dispute. 

An 11-year-old boy from east China’s Shanghai has resorted to legal action to retrieve his lucky money - which was reportedly drained by his 78-year-old grandma without his permission.

Taotao, along with his mother surnamed Zhu, took the elderly woman to court after she took all 45,000 yuan (6,546 US dollars) from the boy’s account, and attempts to negotiate the return of the money were fruitless.

Zhu told reporters from Beijing Youth Daily that Taotao’s grandma always deposited money in the boy’s account during the Spring Festival or upon the boy’s birthday as gifts to the youngster. The bank card stored with Taotao’s lucky money, however, “was held by his grandma over the years under the pretext of helping the child take care of the money,” added Zhu.

The grandmother, identified as Shi, began to withdraw the money in July 2014, when Taotao’s parents divorced and he started to live alone with his mother. The savings of some 45,000 yuan were soon exhausted.

While Zhu and Taotao claimed that the grandma had no right to manage the money after it was given to the boy, Shi argued in court that the money was simply her salary deposited in Taotao’s account - not lucky money.

Pudong New Area People’s Court of Shanghai on Monday ruled in Taotao’s favor, ordering his grandma to pay back the money.

The case has caused an online stir, with numerous netizens sharing their perspectives on the incident. While some applauded the boy and his mother for employing the law in safeguarding their rights, others slammed the two for demonstrating no familial piety to the older woman.

It is not the first time a youngster has taken an older family member to court over lucky money. A teenager in Yunnan Province last November sued her parents for not providing her with lucky money - and won the case.