Power bank is a commonly used electronic product, but some lawbreakers have started to think crookedly on the power bank, illegally produce power bank that can be eavesdropped, located, and sold through online e-commerce channels. Recently, the Shanghai Qingpu District People's Procuratorate prosecuted the criminal suspect on suspicion of illegally producing and selling special eavesdropping equipment, and the four defendants were sentenced separately.
In September 2022, the Shanghai Qingpu Public Security Bureau received a power bank handed over by the informant Zhang, which was purchased from an e-commerce platform and looked no different from an ordinary power bank. However, after the police investigation, it was found that the device can be automatically located, recorded and monitored without obvious prompts. This attracted great attention from the police, so they followed the line and found the sellers of this power bank, Song Moumou and Yang Moumou.
In the same month, the public security organs arrested sales merchants Song Moumou and Yang Moumou in Yuanping, Shanxi Province and Ningde, Fujian Province. After the identification of professional institutions, this device disguised as a power bank is a special equipment for eavesdropping, which contains a miniature pickup recording device, wireless transmission recording and other devices, which can cooperate with mobile phone software to achieve remote voice recording.
With the progress of the case, the case-handling personnel found that the sales merchants Yang Moumou and Song Moumou also had a supplier, responsible for the production of this kind of eavesdropping power bank. In March 2023, the police arrested Xie Moumou and Chen Moumou, who produced eavesdropping and positioning power banks, in Shenzhen, and found electronic components used to assemble and produce eavesdropping and positioning power banks and chargers in their residences.
At present, several criminal suspects involved in the case have been prosecuted on suspicion of illegally producing and selling special equipment for eavesdropping, and have been sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment, short-term detention, and fines.
The means of production and sale of eavesdropping equipment are hidden
Social harm is great
Article 283 of the Criminal Law stipulates that anyone who illegally produces or sells special espionage equipment or special equipment for eavesdropping or eavesdropping shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, short-term detention or controlled release, and/or a fine; where the circumstances are serious, a sentence of between three and seven years imprisonment and a concurrent fine is to be given. In the Shanghai case, the defendant's methods were concealed in the course of committing the crime, and once the eavesdropping equipment disguised as daily necessities was illegally used, the harm to society was very great.
After investigation, the components of the chargers and chargers used by defendants Xie XX and Chen XX for assembling and producing eavesdropping and positioning were purchased in a scattered manner, and the assembly and production process was completed at home, making it difficult for outsiders to find out.
In the course of online sales, the defendant often used vague words to describe the eavesdropping devices. Taking this description of the eavesdropping power bank as an example, the defendant used the words "multi-functional" and "anti-theft", and the word "sound" in the recording was replaced by symbols. When communicating specific details with prospective customers, the customer service software of the e-commerce platform is almost not used, so as to circumvent the relevant management regulations of the e-commerce platform.
Wang Rui, assistant prosecutor of the People's Procuratorate of Qingpu District, Shanghai: He will hint that it has special functions, and after you get in touch, he will ask you to add WeChat first, and then go to talk about what kind of functions you want and what kind of functions I have.
The types of wiretapping equipment illegally produced and sold by the defendant included not only wiretapping power banks, but also eavesdropping equipment disguised as mobile phone chargers, household plug-ins, car aromatherapy and other daily necessities, which were difficult to detect and extremely harmful to people.
Wang Rui, assistant procurator of the Shanghai Qingpu District People's Procuratorate: The harmfulness of his behavior has only just begun after the sale of eavesdropping equipment, which will pose an uncertain threat to an unspecified number of people, especially those involving citizen information, personal privacy, trade secrets, and even state secrets and military secrets.
The prosecution reminds: Eavesdropping is illegal and eavesdropping equipment should not be bought or used
The procuratorate reminded that no matter what the reason and purpose, it is absolutely undesirable to purchase special eavesdropping equipment, and the illegal use of special eavesdropping equipment is also an illegal act, and serious people will face criminal punishment.
In the course of the review of the case, the Shanghai Municipal Procuratorate also found that the sales records of these eavesdropping devices involved many places across the country, and the buyers' motives for purchasing included dealing with family emotional disputes, commercial disputes, etc., and the buyers hoped to obtain certain evidence through this means.
Wang Rui, Assistant Procurator of the Shanghai Qingpu District People's Procuratorate: If the means you used to collect evidence are illegal, it can even be directly excluded as illegal evidence. Warning the majority of consumers, even if you use this kind of tool to eavesdrop and collect the so-called evidence you want, in fact, for the law and for us to handle the case, its probative power is naturally flawed.
Article 284 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates that anyone who illegally uses special equipment for eavesdropping or eavesdropping on photographs, causing serious consequences, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years, short-term detention or controlled release. The prosecutor reminded that consumers can neither buy nor illegally use eavesdropping equipment.
Li Zongwei, assistant procurator of the Qingpu District People's Procuratorate in Shanghai: If you encounter this kind of special equipment with wiretapping, photographing, and positioning, please report the case as soon as possible. If consumers encounter illegal sales of related products with eavesdropping and eavesdropping functions on the Internet, remember not to illegally purchase and use them. Because if these special equipment for eavesdropping and stealing photos are illegally used, administrative penalties may be involved, and because it is an illegal act, serious cases may also be subject to criminal prosecution.
The reporter learned that the main sales channel of these eavesdropping equipment is still on the online e-commerce platform. The procuratorate also suggested that e-commerce platforms need to further strengthen management and reduce the living space for illegal sales of eavesdropping equipment by lawbreakers.
Wang Rui, assistant prosecutor of the People's Procuratorate of Qingpu District, Shanghai: As an e-commerce platform, it is necessary to increase the intensity of inspection and platform management, and close the relevant online stores once they are discovered, and carry out relevant punishments, including the actual operator behind it should be blacklisted, and he is no longer allowed to have the qualifications to open online stores again, so that a part of the market can be purified and the occurrence of criminal cases can be reduced.
(Source: CCTV News Client)