Secretly Switching Donation Box QR Code to Own Account
Caught Embezzling Donations Amounting to About 5.72 Million Won
A young man who majored in law at a prestigious university in China was caught by the police after secretly swapping the QR code on a temple donation box with one linked to his own account.
Hong Kong media outlet South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on the 10th (local time) that a young man named A, a graduate of a prestigious university, confessed to the police after secretly replacing the QR code on a donation box at a temple in Chongqing, China. The amount embezzled by A through the QR code swap totaled 30,000 yuan (approximately 5.72 million KRW). According to the investigation authorities, A holds a master's degree in law from a prestigious university in China.
The incident became public after the Baoji City police in Shaanxi Province recently revealed the method used to embezzle money from the temple. The closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage released by the police clearly recorded the moment A swapped the QR code on the donation box.
A young man who replaced the QR code sticker, performed a bow, and left the scene. [Image source=Chinese SNS]
First, A quickly peeled off the QR code attached to the donation box placed in front of the main hall and replaced it with another QR code linked to his own account. Then, disguising himself as a worshipper, he knelt three times and put his hands together in prayer before leaving the scene.
Local investigators caught A after completing their investigation. Initially, A denied his crime and demanded evidence, but after the police presented the CCTV footage, he eventually confessed.
The case attracted public attention as it was shared on local social networking services (SNS). On Douyin, a popular Chinese SNS, the video recorded about 6.1 million views. Chinese netizens reacted with comments such as, "A person who studied law broke the law," and "The proverb about gods in the sky should be changed to gods in the sky and cameras in the sky."
Incidents of breaking into Chinese Buddhist temples and stealing from donation boxes are not new. In July, a man was arrested by police after secretly entering a temple in Jiangxi Province and stealing from the donation box. Last year, a man was caught stealing valuables from a temple in Shanghai. At that time, the man reportedly claimed to the police that he had "borrowed money with the Buddha's permission."
However, this appears to be the first case of crime involving embezzlement of donations by swapping QR codes. China is a country where QR code payments and transfers are widely used, and recently, QR codes have frequently been used for charity events and donation transfers by religious organizations.
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