Key scratches are seen on a new car in the showroom in Shangrao, East China's Jiangxi Province, made by a man who thought his act of vandalism would force his father to buy the car for him. Photo: Screenshot from video by Pear Video

A spanking new car inside a BMW showroom was purposely scratched with a key by a man who thought his act of vandalism would force his father to buy it for him.  The man, 22, ended up being detained by police instead.

Surveillance video shows the back of the man walking up to the deep-blue sedan in the BMW dealership in Shangrao, East China's Jiangxi Province, and then leaning in to take several, two-handed swipes with his key, leaving deep scratches on the back door.  Without hesitation the man then seeks out a salesperson and offers to buy the car. 

He later told police he had just passed his driver license test, and his father hadn't yet fulfilled his promise to buy him a fancy car. 

"He's like a little kid asking for a gift from his parents. He believed if he damaged the car, his father would buy it for him," Chen Junnan, a local police officer told Pear Video, which didn't report if the father bought the car or paid for a new paint job. 

"Why not scratches a Rolls Royce if he thinks his father will pay the bill?" said a netizen on Twitter-like Sina Weibo. 

"If a family can't properly educate their kid, then the police will," said another. 

Pear Video