In mainland China, the act of installing hidden cameras in hotels to capture compromising footage and carry out extortion has evolved into a dark industry chain, targeting high-end hotel guests in cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, raising significant concerns about the privacy and security of accommodation facilities.
According to a report from the Xinmin Evening News, Mr. A received a distressing letter in December 2024 containing intimate photos taken in a hotel room, with the perpetrator using these images to demand a substantial “hush money” from him.
Following Mr. A’s report to the authorities, it was discovered that two hotel rooms where he had stayed were equipped with hidden cameras, both registered under the same individual. This person was found to have checked into other hotels in Shanghai where similar spying devices were also installed.
In April this year, four main suspects, namely Zhang A, Zhang B, Han A, and Han B, were successively arrested in connection to the crime.
During interrogation, Zhang A revealed that based on instructions from the mastermind “Brother Yu” Pang A, the group of four traveled to various five-star hotels in cities like Shanghai, Beijing, Nanjing, and Suzhou to covertly install miniature cameras in guest rooms. After installation, they remotely monitored the cameras’ functionality through a specific mobile app to spy on guests. They received payments ranging from 7,000 to 8,000 Chinese yuan per job after being verified by “Brother Yu.”
The group had installed a total of 17 devices identified as eavesdropping and spying equipment, of which 10 had captured private videos of others.
On September 28, the ringleader Pang A and his cousin Pang B were sentenced to 1 year and 9 months and 1 year and 2 months in prison, respectively. On November 27, Zhang A and the others were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 1 year and 3 months to 6 months. Those involved in the upstream extortion activities are being dealt with in separate cases.
Upon the news surfacing online, many netizens expressed dissatisfaction with the lenient sentences, believing that harsher punishment should have been imposed.
“Brother Yu only got a little over a year? Ridiculous.”
“A little over a year? That’s too light.”
“It’s outrageous. With so many cameras in various locations and invading so many people’s privacy, just a little over a year of punishment seems insufficient.”
“The cost of perpetrating such crimes is too low.”
“Oh my goodness, after this, I’ll be too afraid to stay in hotels.”
“The heartless dark industry chain has no limit and must be severely cracked down upon without any hesitation.”