The defendant stood in the court. Yesterday, Wang Tao was tried for suspected illegal acquisition of citizens' personal information, and he retracted his confession during the trial. A correspondent, Xuejie, took the photo.
Report (by reporter Chen Bo): At a trade fair, Wang Tao spent 1800 yuan to buy a hard drive containing 28 million pieces of citizens' personal information, including detailed information on 20 billionaire tycoons from Zhejiang province.
Yesterday, Wang Tao was tried at Fengtai Court for suspected illegal acquisition of citizens' personal information. As Wang Tao, who had previously confessed voluntarily, retracted his confession during the trial, the court announced that it would change the simplified trial procedure to the regular procedure and hold another hearing at a later date.
It is reported that this case involves the largest amount of illegally obtained citizens' personal information ever handled by the municipal court.
Yesterday morning, Wang Tao was tried at Fengtai Court for suspected illegal acquisition of citizens' personal information. Due to his previous voluntary confession, according to the recommendation of the prosecution, the court adopted the simplified procedure to handle the case.
The prosecution accused Wang Tao that in September 2009, Wang Tao bought a 1500G mobile hard drive in Shenzhen, of which 100G contained citizens' personal information, and an air stewardess was grounded for taking private photos of her colleague and sued the company for 300,000 yuan in damages. After identification, the hard drive involved 28 million pieces of citizens' personal information. In September 2011, Wang Tao recruited more than 10 employees in his rented house in Fengtai District, using illegally obtained citizens' personal information to promote collectibles for profit. The prosecution believed that Wang Tao's actions constituted the crime of illegal acquisition of citizens' personal information.
In court, Wang Tao denied all the contents of the prosecution's accusations. He claimed that he went to Shenzhen to attend a trade fair and bought the mobile hard drive for 1800 yuan at the fair. "I didn't know there was personal information on the hard drive; I bought video training materials. I only found out there was personal information when I got back to Beijing."
"Is your previous statement to the public security bureau true?" the judge asked.
"At the time, I wasn't thinking clearly and just made it up. What I say today is the truth," Wang Tao said.
Ten minutes after the trial began, the judge announced that due to the defendant retracting his confession in court, the case would be changed to the regular procedure and heard again on another day.
■ Follow-up
Police investigating the source of leaked information
Wang Tao once told the police that he often bought personal information online before, and the information on the hard drive involved in this case "differed greatly." After buying the hard drive, he recruited more than 10 salespeople, requiring them to call one or two hundred people from the hard drive every day to promote Macao return commemorative coins and other collectibles.
It is understood that the citizens' information purchased by Wang Tao mainly includes vehicle information, personal identity, address information, and personal financial status. Among them, 20 people from Zhejiang province are most eye-catching, with each person's personal wealth noted as exceeding 1 billion yuan, and the information includes their names, addresses, and phone numbers. A journalist called one of the billionaires surnamed Shen, whose name and identity matched the information being sold, but he said he did not know how his personal information was leaked.
Law enforcement personnel revealed that the source of the citizens' personal information purchased by Wang Tao is still under investigation by the police.
■ Another Case
A couple suspected of "selling information" under trial
Report (by reporter Chen Bo): Yesterday, Henan couple Zhao Peng also faced trial at Fengtai Court for suspected illegal acquisition of citizens' personal information.
Zhao Peng, 27 years old, has been engaged in the automobile parts industry in Beijing.
It is understood that when the police checked Zhao Peng's company computer, they unexpectedly found a database full of personal information inside. When the officers entered their own mobile phone number, they immediately found their own motor vehicle information.
The prosecution accused Zhao Peng that between 2009 and September 2011, Zhao Peng repeatedly purchased large amounts of citizens' personal information through the Internet in an office building in Fengtai District and resold these informations for profit.
Regarding the charges, Zhao Peng voluntarily pleaded guilty, saying the data sources were all bought online.
Yesterday, the verdict of the case was not announced in court.
■ Legal Article
According to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law, for public prosecution cases where the law may sentence three years or less imprisonment, criminal detention, control, or single fine, if the facts are clear and the evidence sufficient, and the People's Procuratorate suggests or agrees to apply the simplified procedure, the court may apply the simplified procedure, with one judge presiding over the trial alone, and the People's Procuratorate may not send personnel to attend the court session. If during the trial, the court finds that the simplified procedure is not appropriate, it should be retried according to regulations.