Ex-boyfriend's loan repayment delayed; after reporting to the police, it turned out to be someone else.
Compiled from The Paper
An ex-boyfriend borrowed over three million yuan from a woman in Shanghai but kept delaying repayment; upon investigation, his identity turned out to be someone else. Recently, Shanghai Pudong police arrested a suspect who used another person's identity to commit fraud.
Case review
In 2022, Wanggang Police Station of Pudong Public Security Bureau received a report from a woman surnamed Wang, stating that since June 2018, her ex-boyfriend surnamed Yang had borrowed money from her under various pretexts such as buying a house, purchasing a car, and handling traffic accidents. Considering their past relationship, Wang lent him over three million yuan in installments. During this period, Yang repaid about 200,000 yuan, but the remaining debt was never settled. Yang also repeatedly refused Wang's requests to meet and discuss repayment, resulting in a total loss of 2.8 million yuan.
After receiving the report, Wanggang Police Station immediately investigated based on the identity information Yang provided. They found that Yang's presence in Shanghai was only recorded once in 2015, after which he seemed to vanish without a trace, bringing the investigation to a standstill. Recently, based on leads, police discovered that Yang appeared in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia.
After Yang was caught, he stated that he had been living and working in Inner Mongolia, did not know Ms. Wang, and had never borrowed money from her. He had only visited Shanghai as a tourist in 2015, and the "Yang" who dated Ms. Wang and borrowed money was someone else.
After the police communicated with Yang, his childhood friend Bi came under their scrutiny. Yang recalled that Bi had been listed as a dishonest person by the local court in 2013 and was restricted from high consumption. To evade these restrictions, Bi asked Yang to get him a phone card and bank card, and Yang agreed out of friendship. Unexpectedly, Bi used Yang's identity and personal information to defraud Ms. Wang. Based on this clue, the police continued their investigation in Inner Mongolia and eventually arrested Bi.
Currently, suspect Bi has been criminally detained by the Pudong police on suspicion of fraud.
"Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China"
Article 266 [Fraud Crime]
Whoever defrauds public or private property, if the amount is relatively large, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or public surveillance, and shall also, or shall only, be fined; if the amount is huge or there are other serious circumstances, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years, and shall also be fined; if the amount is especially huge or there are other especially serious circumstances, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years or life imprisonment, and shall also be fined or have property confiscated. Where this Law otherwise provides, such provisions shall prevail.
[1] The author's perspective
Nowadays, in China, applying for bank cards, phone cards, and purchasing train or plane tickets all require real-name authentication with an ID card. With the continuous development of network information technology, restrictions on such dishonest individuals are relatively comprehensive, forcing them to "find other ways out." Some people, out of friendship, offer convenience, but little do they know they are setting themselves up for trouble.
In this case, Yang, who was betrayed by his friend, thought he was just doing a favor for his childhood friend Bi. However, Bi used Yang's identity to defraud millions. If this case had not been exposed, Yang might have remained in the dark for much longer. This shows that an ID card is an important document for proving identity, and personal information must never be casually disclosed to others, or one will regret it when entangled in legal troubles.
