Seven Model Criminal Cases concerning Infringement upon Personal Information of Citizens as Issued by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate

1. Case concerning Infringement upon Personal Information of Citizens Committed by Shao Bao Ming, et al.

Illegally selling household registration information, mobile phone locations, accommodation records, and other personal information constitutes the crime of infringing upon personal information of citizens

(1) Basic Facts

At the beginning of 2016, defendants Shao Baoming, Kang Xu, Wang Jie, and Lu Hongyang separately sold personal information of citizens in the name of “Dashu Research Company” to others. Defendant Ni Jianghong joined them shortly afterwards. The five defendants looked for customers by publishing advertisements on the sale of personal household registration information, vehicle archives, mobile phone locations, personal credit information, accommodation records, and other various personal information of citizens through WeChat Moments. After receiving an order, they purchased information from the seller through WeChat or asked other defendants to purchase information from the seller and then raised the price to sell it. For each order, they charge CNY 10 to 1,000. It was found upon investigation that defendant Shao Baoming made a profit of CNY 26,000, defendant Kang Xu made a profit of CNY 8,000, and defendants Ni Jianghong, Wang Jie, and Lu Hongyang each made a profit of CNY 5,000.

(2) Judgment

The People's Court of Dongyang City, Zhejiang Province rendered a judgment that: Defendants Shao Baoming, Kang Xu, Ni Jianghong, Wang Jie, and Lu Hongyang, individually or in collusion with others, sold personal information of citizens to others in violation of the relevant regulations of the state, the circumstances are serious, their acts have constituted the crime of infringing upon personal information of citizens. By taking into full account such circumstances as confessions and return of ill-gotten gains by defendants, for the crime of infringing upon citizens' personal information, defendant Shao Baoming was sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of one year and three months, in addition to a fine of CNY 8,000; defendant Kang Xu was sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of one year, in addition to a fine of CNY 4,000; and defendants Ni Jianghong, Wang Jie, and Lu Hongyang were each sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of ten months, in addition to a fine of CNY 2,000. This judgment has come into force.

2. Case concerning Infringement upon Personal Information of Citizens Committed by Han Shijie, Kuang Yuanhong, Han Wenhua, et al.

Illegally inquiring about credit information for seeking profits, which constitutes a crime of infringing upon personal information of citizens

(1) Basic Facts

From September 3 to 4, 2015, by using the credit inquiry ID and password of Lian Guanghui (a credit officer of Yanduhe Subbranch of Rural Commercial Bank of Badong County, Hubei Province) and the special bank network of Dongfenglu Subbranch, Zhengzhou Branch, Bank of Luoyang provided by defendants Li Chong and Geng Jianmei (customer manager of Dongfenglu Subbranch, Zhengzhou Branch, Bank of Luoyang), defendants Han Shijie, Kuang Yuanhong, and Han Wenhua illegally inquired about more than 30,000 pieces of personal bank credit information of citizens on a PC nearby the Dongfenglu Subbranch.

From September 5 to 6, 2015, by using the credit inquiry ID and password of Lian Guanghui and the special bank network of Binzhou Branch, Bank of Dezhou provided by defendants Li Nan and Lu Huisheng (president of Jinting Subbranch, Binzhou Branch, Bank of Dezhou), defendants Han Shijie, Kuang Yuanhong, and Han Wenhua illegally inquired about more than 20,000 pieces of personal bank credit information of citizens on a PC in the parking lot in the south of the Jinting Subbranch.

On September 8, 2015, by using the credit inquiry ID and password of Li Tao (employee of Xuliu Branch, Rural Commercial Bank of Huai'an City, Jiangsu Province) and the special bank network of Binzhou Branch, Bank of Dezhou provided by defendants Li Nan and Lu Huisheng, defendants Han Shijie, Kuang Yuanhong, and Han Wenhua illegally inquired about more than 30,000 pieces of personal bank credit information of citizens on a PC in the parking lot in the south of the Jinting Subbranch, Binzhou Branch.

Defendants Han Liang and Deng Jiayong obtained the credit inquiry IDs and passwords and illegally provided them to defendants Han Shijie and other persons. Both parties transferred the rentals and passwords via defendant Chen Shasha. Defendants Han Shijie, Kuang Yuanhong, and Han Wenhua sold the aforesaid personal bank credit information of citizens obtained upon inquiry to others and they paid the relevant fees to defendants Han Liang, Li Chong, and Li Nan.

(2) Judgment

The People's Court of Badong County, Hubei Province rendered a judgment that: In violation of the relevant regulations of the state, defendants Han Shijie, Kuang Yuanhong, Han Wenhua, Han Liang, Deng Jiayong, Li Nan, Chen Shasha, Lu Huisheng, Li Chong, and Geng Jianmei illegally obtained personal information of citizens and sold it for seeking profits, the circumstances are serious, their acts have constituted the crime of infringing upon personal information of citizens. By taking into full account such circumstances as surrenders, confessions and return of ill-gotten gains by defendants, for the crime of infringing upon citizens' personal information, defendant Han Shijie was sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of one year and six months, in addition to a fine of CNY 20,000; defendant Kuang Yuanhong was sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of one year and three months, in addition to a fine of CNY 20,000; defendant Han Wenhua was sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of one year and two months, in addition to a fine of CNY 10,000; defendant Han Liang was sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of one year, in addition to a fine of CNY 10,000; and other defendants were sentenced to the corresponding fixed-term imprisonment, detention, or fine. This judgment has come into force.

3. Case concerning Infringement upon Personal Information of Citizens Committed by Zhou Bincheng, et al.

Illegally purchasing student information and selling it for seeking profits constitutes the crime of infringing upon citizens' personal information

(1) Basic Facts

In April 2016, defendant Zhou Bincheng purchased over 1.93 million pieces of student information in Zhejiang Province from others. Afterwards, Zhou Bincheng sold over 1 million pieces of student information in Jiaxing Region and Shaoxing Region to defendant Chen Liqing at the price of CNY 60,000, 45,655 pieces of student information in Jiaxing Region to defendants Liu Ya, Chen Jun, and Zhou Hongyun at the price of CNY 3,500, 7,214 pieces of student information in Pinghu Region at the price of CNY 1,400, and 2,320 pieces of student information in Pinghu Region at the price of CNY 500, and he obtained the illegal profits of CNY 65,400 in total. In addition, in April 2016, defendants Liu Ya, Chen Jun, and Zhou Hongyun purchased 25,068 pieces of student information in Jiaxing Region from others at the price of CNY 3,000.

(2) Judgment

The People's Court of Pinghu City, Zhejiang Province rendered a judgment that: In violation of the relevant regulations of the state, defendants Zhou Bincheng, Chen Liqing, Liu Ya, Chen Jun, and Zhou Hongyun illegally obtained personal information of citizens by means of sale or purchase, the quantities of personal information sold or purchased were over 1.93 million pieces, 1 million pieces, 70,000 pieces, 70,000 pieces, and 70,000 pieces, respectively. Their acts have constituted the crime of infringing upon personal information of citizens. By taking into full account such circumstances as surrenders and confessions of defendants, for the crime of infringing upon personal information of citizens, defendant Zhou Bincheng was sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of one year and 11 months, in addition to a fine of CNY 40,000; defendant Chen Liqing was sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of 11 months, in addition to a fine of CNY 100,000; defendants Liu Ya, Chen Jun, and Zhou Hongyun were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonments ranging from nine months to seven months or probation of one year, in addition to fines ranging from CNY 5,000 to 4,000. This judgment has come into force.

4. Case concerning Infringement upon Personal Information of Citizens Committed by Xia Fuxiao

Illegally buying and selling information on online orders constitutes the crime of infringing upon personal information of citizens

(1) Basic Facts

From October 2015 to July 2016, defendant Xia Fuxiao bought and sold a large amount of information on online orders including names of citizens, delivery addresses, mobile phone numbers, and other items, and obtained the illegal profits of over CNY 50,000. After Xia Fuxiao was captured, he truthfully confessed his crime.

(2) Judgment

The People's Court of Keqiao District, Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province rendered a judgment: In violation of the relevant regulations of the state, defendant Xia Fuxiao illegally obtained personal information of citizens and sold it to others, the circumstances are serious, his acts have constituted the crime of infringing upon citizen's personal information. In light of the circumstances of the whole case, for the crime of infringing upon personal information of citizens, defendant Xia Fuxiao was sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of two years, in addition to a fine of CNY 2,000. This judgment has come into force.

5. Case concerning Infringement upon Personal Information of Citizens Committed by Xiao Fan and Zhou Hao

Illegally selling personal information of citizens stolen by hacker means constitutes the crime of infringing upon citizens' personal information

(1) Basic Facts

Defendants Xiao Fan and Zhou Hao premeditated to steal personal information of citizens on the intranet of a post office and sold such information for the purpose of seeking profits. They jointly contributed capital to purchase hacker software. From May to June 2016, they invaded the intranet of a post office through the hacker software, stole 103,257 pieces of personal information of citizens on the intranet of the post office, and sold all stolen personal information of citizens to defendant Li Xiaobo. Afterwards, Li Xiaobo sold 40,000 pieces of personal information of citizens he purchased to defendant Wang Liyuan, who then sold 30,000 pieces of personal information of citizens she purchased to defendant Song Xiaobo.

(2) Judgment

The People's Court of Hongshan District, Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region rendered a judgment that: Defendants Xiao Fan and Zhou Hao stole personal information of citizens by hacker means and illegally sold it to others; and Li Xiaobo, Wang Liyuan, and Song Xiaobo illegally obtained personal information of citizens by means of purchase. Their acts have constituted the crime of infringing upon personal information of citizens. Therefore, for the crime of infringing upon personal information of citizens, defendants Xiao Fan, Zhou Hao, and Li Xiaobo were each sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of two years, in addition to a fine of CNY 50,000; defendant Wang Liyuan was sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of one year, in addition to a fine of CNY 30,000; and defendant Song Xiaobo was sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of six months, in addition to a fine of CNY 30,000. This judgment has come into force.

6. Case concerning Infringement upon Personal Information of Citizens Committed by Du Mingxing and Du Minglong

Illegally trading in, exchanging, and selling personal information of citizens through the Internet constitutes the crime of infringing upon personal information of citizens

(1) Basic Facts

Defendants Du Mingxing and Du Minglong participated in QQ groups involving exchange and trading of personal information. By means of purchase and exchange, they obtained a large amount of personal information and then they published advertisements in QQ groups to attract buyers. From November 2015 to March 2016, Du Mingxing purchased or exchanged over 280,000 pieces of car owner information and other personal information of citizens and sold over 420,000 pieces of personal information of citizens on futures, funds, car owners, and credit cards to others; Du Minglong purchased over 30,000 pieces of information on newborns and their parents in Hangzhou Region and other personal information of citizens from others and sold over 400,000 pieces of information on car owners and proprietors in residential communities and other personal information of citizens to others.

(2) Judgment

The People's Court of Gulou District, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province rendered a judgment: In violation of the relevant regulations of the state, defendants Du Mingxing and Du Minglong sold to others or illegally obtained personal information of citizens, the circumstances are serious, their acts have constituted the crime of infringing upon personal information of citizens. By taking into full account such circumstances as confessions and return of ill-gotten gains by defendants, for the crime of infringing upon personal information of citizens, defendant Du Mingxing was sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of one year and four months, in addition to a fine of CNY 10,000; and defendant Du Minglong was sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of one year and two months, in addition to a fine of CNY 10,000. This judgment has come into force.

7. Case concerning Infringement upon Personal Information of Citizens Committed by Ding Yaguang

Illegally providing approximately 20 million accommodation records for inquiry by others for the purpose of seeking profits constitutes “especially serious circumstance” in the crime of infringing upon personal information of citizens

(1) Basic Facts

At the end of 2013, due to security flaws of the system of a company that provided web services for over 4,500 hotels across the country, 20 million accommodation records of hotels across the country were leaked. From early 2016 to June, by means of download from an illegal website, defendant Ding Yaguang illegally obtained accommodation records of hotels and other personal information of citizens and uploaded such personal information to the website “Sniffing Passwords” he opened. Besides supporting inquiries into accommodation records, this website also had functions of retrieving account names and passwords of QQ and some forums. In particular, there were approximately 20 million accommodation records. After a user registered to become a member, he or she may enter the keyword (name or ID card number) under the column of “Check-in Inquiry” for inquiring about the accommodation records of hotels in the website database. (Such information as name, ID number, mobile phone number, address, and length of stay was displayed.) From May 2015, Ding Yaguang started to charge CNY 60 per registered member and in January 2016, the standard was risen to CNY 120 per registered member. From November 1, 2015 to June 23, 2016, there were 49,698 inquiry records on the website of “Sniffing Passwords” and CNY 191,440.92 of membership fees was charged.

(2) Judgment

The People's Court of Yueqing City, Zhejiang Province rendered a judgment that: Defendant Ding Yaguang illegally obtained accommodation records and other personal information of citizens and then sought profits by providing inquiry services. There were nearly 20 million pieces of personal information of citizens available for inquiry. His acts have constituted the crime of infringement upon personal information of citizens and fell under “especially serious circumstances.” By taking into full account the return of ill-gotten gains and other circumstances, for the crime of infringing upon personal information of citizens, defendant Ding Yaguang was sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of three years, in addition to a fine of CNY 20,000. This judgment has come into force.