Compiled from: Communist Youth League Central Committee, The Beijing News
 
Case review
As graduation season approaches, the biggest worry for university graduates is their thesis, with plagiarism checking being a crucial step. Plagiarism checking involves placing the completed thesis into a professional database and comparing it with other papers to ensure no copying or plagiarism. Most universities currently use the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) plagiarism check system. A few years ago, after an incident where a celebrity who had earned a doctorate was unaware of CNKI, universities became stricter about thesis plagiarism checks. However, the cost of these checks has also risen. In such a high-demand environment, not all universities offer free CNKI plagiarism checks, leading students without access to purchase them online, which in turn has given rise to a series of crimes.

 
 

A few days ago, a senior student at a university in Wuhan discovered that the free CNKI account provided by the school had been stolen. Upon investigation, it was found that the thesis plagiarism check opportunities attached to the account were being sold as products in an online store. The class had 38 students, 14 of whom had their accounts stolen.
 
A similar case occurred in 2018, when a student from a university in Zhongshan reported to the Wugui Mountain Public Security Bureau that their account for thesis similarity checking had been stolen, resulting in a loss of a plagiarism check opportunity worth approximately 188 yuan per use. After receiving the report, the Zhongshan Wugui Mountain police quickly contacted the university and conducted a campus-wide investigation. The investigation revealed that over 200 students had their accounts stolen, with the total amount involved reaching about 30,000 yuan.
 
Subsequently, police successfully arrested two suspects, Li and Wang. Investigations showed that Li had previously been an administrative staff member at a school in Shihezi City before resigning to specialize in profiting from selling thesis similarity check results.
 
According to Li's confession, starting from the end of 2015, with the assistance of his wife Wang, he repeatedly stole university students' thesis similarity check accounts to gain access and sold the results through multiple online store sellers for profit.

 
 

The actions of the two individuals violated Article 264 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, constituting the crime of theft. Subsequently, suspect Li was approved for arrest by the court.
 
 
Relevant legal provisions
Article 264 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China Crime of theft
Whoever steals public or private property, if the amount is relatively large or if there are multiple instances of theft, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or public surveillance, and shall also, or only, be fined; if the amount is huge or if there are other serious circumstances, the sentence shall be fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years, and a fine shall also be imposed; if the amount is especially huge or if there are other especially serious circumstances, the sentence shall be fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years or life imprisonment, and a fine or confiscation of property shall also be imposed.
 
 
[1] The author's perspective
Searching for "CNKI plagiarism check" on Baidu reveals multiple websites offering thesis plagiarism checking services. Many sites, under the name "Academic Misconduct Detection System," provide paid CNKI plagiarism checking services. Opening a random website, its page prominently displays "Academic Misconduct Thesis Plagiarism Detection System," offering thesis checking services priced between 38 yuan and 1,400 yuan. The site's name is shown as "China National Knowledge Infrastructure CNKI Academic Misconduct Thesis Plagiarism Check." However, comparing it with the official website of the CNKI Research Center for Scientific Integrity Management System reveals that they are not the same site, and the official website states: Given the seriousness of academic misconduct detection, the CNKI academic misconduct detection system has always only provided services to institutions and is limited to checking documents within those institutions.
 
However, because schools ultimately use CNKI for final plagiarism checks, and students have only one chance to check their thesis after submission to the school, failure may directly lead to delayed graduation. Moreover, the thesis repetition rate is an important indicator for evaluating whether a thesis is qualified. Although students have a high demand for plagiarism checking, not all universities provide students with free CNKI checking opportunities, so many students purchase checking services online.
 
In fact, stealing students' CNKI plagiarism check accounts not only infringes on the interests of the affected students, who lose free plagiarism check opportunities and have to pay for the service, but also forms a profit chain of stealing and selling student CNKI accounts. Some individuals steal student information for profit, and such actions are suspected of violating laws and committing crimes. The author suggests that students, upon discovering their plagiarism check accounts have been stolen, should take immediate action, request police intervention to investigate, and hold relevant parties accountable. At the same time, academic websites should consider appropriately opening up plagiarism check functions, rather than implementing academic monopolies under the guise of academic seriousness.