On March 7, media reported that a man surnamed Liu stayed in Fuzhou and other places, installing eavesdropping and photo-taking devices in more than 20 hotels, affecting thousands of people.
Recently, the Procuratorate of Gulou District in Fuzhou has also prosecuted a case of illegal use of wiretapping and photographic equipment according to law.
It was learned from the Gulou District Procuratorate that the defendant Chen Moumou had purchased four sets of pinhole camera equipment online and installed pinhole cameras in four hotels in the center of Fuzhou City since July 2019, using an APP software to remotely view, record, and store videos of others. There were more than 40 sexual videos, and more than 600 victims were involved. Chen Moumou’s behavior seriously invaded the personal privacy of the victims and damaged social order and public morality.
After the incident, Chen Moulve was arrested by the public security organ, and the installed pinhole camera equipment was dismantled. At present, Chen Moulve has been indicted by Gulou District Procuratorate for illegally using special photographic equipment.
According to the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China
Article 284:
Illegally using eavesdropping and photographing equipment causing serious consequences shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years, criminal detention or public surveillance. According to the chief prosecutor of this case, Chen’s behavior has seriously infringed upon the victim’s right to privacy and caused irreparable mental damage, as well as potential threat to his personal safety. Chen secretly installed eavesdropping and photographing equipment in his room which affects the normal operation and management of the hotel, and caused serious damage to the reputation of the hotel involved. The possible economic loss is also immeasurable.
The prosecution suggests helping to plug management loopholes.
During the handling of this case, the prosecutor of Gulou District Procuratorate found loopholes in the safety management of the hotel. A prosecutorial suggestion was issued to the hotel that had not timely discovered the secretly installed cameras in the rooms and failed to fulfill its corresponding security management responsibilities, resulting in the leakage of privacy of its guests. The suggestion proposed that the hotel should conduct special rectification and management in terms of security, optimize its security management measures, and ensure an effective protection for its guest’s right to privacy.