Ticketing platform apologizes for denying man's request to attend concert for deceased sister

Damai, China’s major ticketing platform, apologized yesterday for declining a man's request to change the ID information on a concert ticket so he could attend on behalf of his deceased sister to fulfill her last wish of seeing the singer in person.

The man, whose identity remains unknown, claimed his sister had bought a ticket for the concert of Taiwan pop singer Jay Chou, hailed as the “King of Mandopop,” in Changsha, Hunan Province, on June 1, but unexpectedly died in May.

Since seeing Chou in person had always been his sister’s wish, the man wanted to fulfill the dream on her behalf by attending the concert himself. He requested Damai to change the ID information on the ticket.

China has a real-name registration system for large-scale concerts, matching one ticket with one ID card number to prevent scalping. The ticket had his sister’s personal information registered.

The man claimed that he provided his sister’s death certificate and proof of cancellation of her household information but was still declined by Damai.

Damai said in a statement yesterday that its staffer didn’t fully grasp the man’s intentions nor his desire to fulfill his sister’s wishes. Instead, the staffer rigidly followed the real-name registration rule and declined his requests, only offering a refund without extra charge, in a process described by the ticketing platform as “dogmatic and inflexible.”

The company said it is trying to contact the man, offering to help him complete his sister’s wish.