bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Alice Yan

A government official in central China was forced to step down from his position over the weekend after using vulgarity in response to a citizen seeking help.
However, the nature of the messages received by Yin Huiqiang, who was the party secretary of Pingshan county’s Judicial Affairs Committee in Hebei, could have been mistaken for spam or a hacking attempt.
In September, Yin said he received a text message from resident Guan Cuimin which only showed a short sentence that read, “I’ve sent you a long text file” and three web links. She had sent him a query about a house demolition from years ago.
Yin replied with a vulgar Chinese character that roughly means “bugger off”.

But Guan, a retired civil servant, said she had written a 900-character message to Yin, and her notifications did say it had reached him.
She had hoped to appeal to the official for help receiving unpaid compensation for her house, which was demolished by the government in a road expansion project years ago.
Not happy with Yin’s attitude, Guan released his message to the media. Under public pressure, authorities from Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei, formed an investigation team.
After checking with technology experts, the investigation team confirmed that Yin’s mobile phone failed to display the full content of Guan’s message and he did not open the links she sent.
“But his response showed bad ethics and showed his behaviour was not acceptable,” they said when announcing Yin would be removed from his position.

It said the authorities had also attached importance to Guan’s petition for her house.
Yin’s case is not being accepted as a simple example of somebody making a mistake and then paying for it. Rather, people are torn about whether his actions are justified, especially considering the emphasis authorities place on spotting spam or hacking messages.
In 2019, China passed laws that strengthened its ability to fight texting fraud, and followed it up with a high-profile education campaign to help residents spot suspicious activity.
Many people pointed out that Guan’s messages looked a lot like a text that should be treated with suspicion, and internet users have poured in over 60,000 comments on the story at the news portal 163.com. Their opinions were divided.
“This ending makes me comfortable,” wrote one person.
But many people thought the government’s decision was not justified.
“The punishment is too heavy,” another person said.
Another person wrote: “The anti-telecoms fraud campaign is carried out across the country right now. Police tell us not to click the links sent from a person we do not know. Let alone Guan’s message was sent late in the evening. I don’t understand what this official did wrong.”


Andrew’s ‘downfall’: how this viral photo of the disgraced ex-prince was captured

UK to consider removing ex-prince Andrew from royal line of succession

Families of Philippine drug war victims seek ICC justice as Duterte trial looms

Water prisons, torture: UN urges crackdown on brutal Southeast Asia scam centres

Crime

Chinese official forced to step down over rude texts, but the case is not so simple

Yin Huiqiang, a Chinese Communist Party official was removed from his post after he mistook a text for help for a scam message and replied rudely. Photo: 163.com

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, police escort criminal suspects as they get off a plane at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, Friday, June, 7, 2019. A group of 94 Taiwanese accused of telephone and online fraud arrived at Beijing airport Friday after being extradited from Spain, Chinese authorities said. (Yin Gang/Xinhua via AP)

Seized evidences including mobile phones are displayed by police at the press conference on the operation of cracking down phone deception syndicate based in Foshan city. 06JUL18. SCMP/ Sam Tsang

Phone scammers cheat Hong Kong businesswoman out of US$1.28 million using national security scare tactics

Police have recently raised the alarm over a fresh wave of phone scams. Photo: Warton Li

Beware of phone scammers posing as health officials, Amazon staff, Hong Kong police warn

Phone scammers have been posing as government officials or Amazon staff. Photo: Shutterstock

Generic view of Hong Kong Police Force sign at Hong Kong Police Force Headquarters in Wan Chai. 11JUN19 SCMP/ Warton Li

Fraudsters hit the jackpot: phone scammers cheat Hong Kong victims out of HK$1.8 billion over 15 years

Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

(L to R) Senior superintendent Neil Chan Tat-ming and chief inspector of the Commercial Crime Bureau Bonnie Ngan Hoi-ian, show the anti-scam hotline number at Police Headquarters in Wan Chai. 03JUN21 SCMP / Jonathan Wong

Red heart in a rat trap on white wooden background. Online internet romance scam or valentine day in darkside concept. Love is bait or victim. Photo: Shutterstock

Dating app Privacy Royalty-free stock photo ID: 1204256557 Dating app or site in mobile phone screen. Man swiping and liking profiles on relationship site or application. Single guy using smartphone to find love, partner and girlfriend. Mockup website.

Hong Kong police Anti-Deception Coordination Centre (ADCC) . Photo: Hong Kong Police

photo ID: 1038184249 Scammer holds smartphone, cracks two-factor authentication, steals money online. Photo: Shutterstock

Hong Kong woman conned out of HK$20 million by phone scammers impersonating police

A woman was scammed out of HK$20 million by people impersonating law enforcement officers. Photo: Warton Li

News

People & Culture

China Personalities

Trending in China


The official sent a woman a vulgar message in response to a supposed query for help
But the message he received looked a lot like spam or a hacking attempt



A government official in China was removed from his position over a rude text, but the case sparked controversy because he was replying to messages that looked a lot like spam or hacking.


Crime in China

Chinese official forced to step down over rude texts, but the case is not so simple

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} The official sent a woman a vulgar message in response to a supposed query for help But the message he received looked a lot like spam or a hacking attempt

The official sent a woman a vulgar message in response to a supposed query for help

But the message he received looked a lot like spam or a hacking attempt