“Without filing a complaint, no one takes action; as soon as I filed one, action was taken against me.” Recently, a homeowner in Shanghai revealed that after reporting illegal construction in his residential area using his real name, his privacy was thoroughly exposed. He even received threatening phone calls from the reported party, leading to his family not daring to return home for two weeks.
According to reports from various media outlets in mainland China, on February 24th of this year, Mr. Qiu, a resident of Qianze Garden Community in Baoshan District, Shanghai, noticed a black cloth covering the rooftop of Building 23 in the community, indicating possible illegal construction. At noon on the same day, he made a report through the 12345 mobile platform, providing his name, address, and phone number as requested.
The next afternoon, having not received any response from any department, Mr. Qiu received a call from the reported individual, questioning if he was the one who filed the complaint. Mr. Qiu was extremely surprised at how the person obtained his phone number.
What’s even more disturbing is that the reported individual then disclosed Mr. Qiu’s home address, recited all the details from the complaint form verbatim, even knowing specifics like where his mother practices boxing daily and when he gets off work. The reported party even vaguely hinted at retaliation by saying, “You filed the complaint that day, and I knew about it 10 minutes later.”
Shaken by the incident, Mr. Qiu reported the matter to the police that same day, and filed another complaint through the 12345 mobile platform about the leaked information. He mentioned that due to fears of further retaliation, he and his family have not dared to return home for two consecutive weeks.
However, the involved Qianxi Property Management, Community Resident Committee, Dachang Town City Operations Center, and local urban management departments all denied leaking any information.
After the incident came to light, netizens expressed their opinions, with some saying, “Now we finally understand why they require real-name reporting, or even implement real-name registration for mobile phones.” One person shared their experience, stating, “It’s true. I once vented about a company on Xiaohongshu (a social media platform), and within 10 minutes, they called me to delete the post.”
Another netizen bluntly remarked, “Those who dare to engage in illegal construction are no ordinary individuals.” They advised, “Remember to record the call when dialing 12345, inquire about the caller’s staff ID and name, and let them know that if personal information is leaked, they’ll be held accountable too.” “No organization should leak personal information; thorough investigations are necessary.”
Under public pressure, the Dachang Town City Operations Center ultimately stated that they would thoroughly investigate the information leak incident, provide Mr. Qiu with a formal response after clarification, and strengthen their process management as a form of damage control.