By Zhu Jinhua, Times correspondent in Ningbo
After a burglary at his home, the victim lost jewelry, cash, a camera, an electric scooter, and other valuables. The loss was significant. However, what happened next was even more laughable and infuriating.
Later, the police caught a thief and managed to recover a camera with great difficulty.
But when the owner opened the camera, he was enraged to find that it contained photos of the "thieves" enjoying themselves while traveling, eating, drinking, and partying. There were even pictures of this group patronizing establishments for prostitution.
Infuriated by this discovery, the victim posted these photos online.
Recently, a netizen named "netcorner" posted nearly 30 photos on the Cixi Forum, hoping that internet users could help identify clues from the photos to track down the thieves. "If anyone recognizes them, please contact me or the police. We don't want these people to harm other innocent victims," said "netcorner."
The "thief" loves taking selfies
"netcorner" recounted the events: "On the afternoon of June 12, between approximately 2 PM and 4:30 PM, my house was burglarized, and all the valuable items, including jewelry, cash, a camera, and an electric scooter, were stolen by the thief. A week later, one of the thieves was caught by the police, and they found my digital camera on him. Unfortunately, the rest of the valuable items have not been recovered yet. Currently, some of the thieves are still at large, and the police are issuing a manhunt."
"netcorner" continued: "Later, I retrieved the digital camera from the police, charged it, and opened the photo album. To my dismay, there were many photos inside—mostly showing a group of people traveling, shopping extravagantly, and even visiting places for prostitution."
"This group seems to be associated with the thief, and they were enthusiastically taking photos. But thinking about it, it's truly painful because they squandered the money we worked hard to earn," said "netcorner."
"netcorner" added that the more he thought about it, the angrier he became, so he decided to post some of the photos online. "I hope that after seeing these people, netizens will be more vigilant and help us identify this group."
Mixed reactions from the public
The reporter observed that among the nearly 30 photos published, the main characters were three individuals who had tattoos, and some photos showed them shirtless.
In the photos, some scenes depicted the group shopping at malls, others showed them playing pool, and some were selfies taken during mountain trips.
There were also two women in the photos, one holding a child.
Upon the publication of these photos online, most netizens condemned the "thieves" and applauded the original poster's actions.
Netizen "cxhuadays": These hoodlums don’t look like good people. Why would you give them any face? Upload all the photos to expose them! If you don't expose them, you're just enabling them!
Netizen "Fengyinwuhun" commented: "So this is what the thieves look like!"
Netizen "Yibao shihan Lily": "These thieves make me laugh, they're so ridiculous."
Some netizens speculated: "The first photo shows the thief taking a selfie in a barber shop. There are no customers around; perhaps he owns the barber shop?"
However, some netizens felt that the original poster's actions were questionable.
Netizen "Zheer gen": The poster should provide these materials to the police to assist in solving the case.
Netizen "Jiucha qian": I understand your feelings, but your behavior may not be appropriate!
Other netizens questioned whether this action was similar to human flesh search engines and if it violated someone's rights. "Firstly, are these people indeed thieves? They might just be friends of one of the thieves. Even if they are confirmed to be thieves, does this action infringe upon their right to privacy and reputation?" asked one netizen.
The police do not support this action
Yesterday, the reporter learned from the Huxian Police Station in Cixi that such a case did indeed occur in their jurisdiction. "One thief has been arrested, and the victim's camera has been recovered. Other thieves are still being pursued," said a responsible person from the station.
This official further stated during the interview that they do not support the victim publishing these photos: "Currently, the case is still under investigation. By doing this, the victim might interfere with the police investigation and could also face retaliation."
Mr. Zhang Kai, a lawyer from Zhejiang Minli Law Firm, expressed his opinion on this matter: Whether the people in the photos are thieves must ultimately be determined by judicial authorities. Ordinary citizens do not have the authority to declare them as such. "If the facts are not as described by the poster, and the people in the photos are not accomplices of the thief, then the poster's actions might constitute an infringement."