China voyeurism ring exposed as 140,000 women targeted
AM730 · 2 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago5 MIN
Summary
Police in mainland China have solved 18 covert-filming cases after receiving leads from anti-voyeurism volunteer Zhou Ninghe (周寧河), according to reports published on Thursday. The reports say the illicit trade has developed into a full profit chain covering hidden-camera sales, installation, video trading and paid downloads, with cases found across all 34 provincial-level regions and more than half of prefecture-level cities. Zhou estimated that about 140,000 women have been victimised, while two of the solved cases involved minors. One case in Yongzhou, Hunan, involved a primary school toilet where a camera was allegedly installed for about half a year and more than 100 schoolgirls were filmed
Key Points
- Zhou said he began tracing cases after seeing footage in 2022 that showed him in a shower area at a Fuzhou water park he had visited.
- Investigators found hidden cameras could be bought on e-commerce platforms for tens to hundreds of yuan by avoiding sensitive search terms
- A seller told reporters users should wear gloves during installation and offered customised modifications to disguise cameras as everyday objects such as bins
- Reports said footage was traded through encrypted chat groups, some with thousands of members, then edited and resold to pornography websites for profit.
- According to Zhou, videos involving minors can sell for five to 10 times the price of clips involving adult women because of demand and profit incentives
Why It Matters
For Hong Kong readers travelling, studying or staying in hotels across the mainland, the reports point to privacy risks in ordinary spaces such as washrooms, hotels and leisure venues. They also show how mainstream online commerce, encrypted groups and paid forums can combine into a scalable abuse market that is difficult for victims to detect on their own.