China: Man Sentenced to Prison for Stealing Railway Electricity to Mine Bitcoin

[Reatim]

Although the Chinese regulatory bodies have maintained their distance from cryptocurrencies, it has not deterred the people in the country from partaking in the promising crypto mining industry – as a Chinese man was recently sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for stealing power from a train station to mine Bitcoin (BTC). The incident was reported by the local media outlet The Paper, on October 8, 2018.

https://btcmanager.com/chinese-man-prison-for-stealing-electricity-mine-bitcoin/

Oh well, he took the risk and now he is in jail.  I wonder how much he earn mining bitcoin  because it means that he knows what his doing is wrong but I guess he see the $$$ that's why its worth a try. hehehe.

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[Thinkable999]

Many people started mining from the crypto boom using unfair means. Various softwares were also rigged and used secret mining exploits using other people's resources.

[pozmu]

He mined 3.2BTC worth 120 000 yuan using electricity worth 104 000 yuan as The Paper reports.
I think this is common practice in many countries, I've used to live a man who was stealing power for his household use, wires were visible in the corridor but no one cared   We can only wonder what's happening in datacenters, powerplants etc. when there is such simple way to convert electricity and computing power into money.

[Jannn]

3.5 years is excessive though jesus. THREE YEARS just for stealing electricity? Man I am glad I don't live in China, sounds like a horrible place to live.

I think a more reasonable sentence is three months, or possibly even just long community service, what a joke.

[PsylockReborn]

This guy really crossed the line in here. Bitcoin is banned in China yet he still has the guts to mine bitcoin using stolen power. He should've used his resourcefulness in another way, not in an illegal way. Worst thing is that those BTCs that he mined won't even suffice in paying his bail. Sometimes we really need to think before we do stupid decisions for it may haunt us down and put us behind bars.

[Osamede]

He mined 3.2BTC worth 120 000 yuan using electricity worth 104 000 yuan as The Paper reports.
I think this is common practice in many countries, I've used to live a man who was stealing power for his household use, wires were visible in the corridor but no one cared   We can only wonder what's happening in datacenters, powerplants etc. when there is such simple way to convert electricity and computing power into money.

Such practice is common in places where there is little or no control over public infrastructure. especially in government buildings where bills are paid directly by the Government.

[KonstantinosM]

3.5 years is excessive though jesus. THREE YEARS just for stealing electricity? Man I am glad I don't live in China, sounds like a horrible place to live.

I think a more reasonable sentence is three months, or possibly even just long community service, what a joke.

Yes, and it's quite difficult to get the actual facts of the case. The government there is so corrupt that he might have been arrested just so they could steal his bitcoin and mining hardware, only for some corrupt official to get some more money.

I think a fine in this case would have been enough. Maybe no-jailtime or just a few weeks if it was his first serious offence.

[Osamede]

Not very smart of him to have done that, first there is a ban on all things crypto, them he steals from the government to mine something that is forbidden by the government.China is very strict with their laws, He is lucky he is not getting life sentence, drug dealer or counterfeiter usually get such in China.

[gantez]

First, I think this thread will be better at the legal board.

3.5 years is excessive though jesus. THREE YEARS just for stealing electricity? Man I am glad I don't live in China, sounds like a horrible place to live.

I think a more reasonable sentence is three months, or possibly even just long community service, what a joke.

Yes, and it's quite difficult to get the actual facts of the case. The government there is so corrupt that he might have been arrested just so they could steal his bitcoin and mining hardware, only for some corrupt official to get some more money.

I think a fine in this case would have been enough. Maybe no-jailtime or just a few weeks if it was his first serious offence.

Stealing is classified as a crime and an action so classified is reliable to the penalty of stealing. So, If the guy takes electricity from a source that he is not supposed to, then he should be liable for stealing.

[pozmu]

3.5 years is excessive though jesus. THREE YEARS just for stealing electricity? Man I am glad I don't live in China, sounds like a horrible place to live.

I think a more reasonable sentence is three months, or possibly even just long community service, what a joke.

He stole $15 019 worth of electricity.
We don't know the details, maybe he caused some hazard while doing this?

He mined 3.2BTC worth 120 000 yuan using electricity worth 104 000 yuan as The Paper reports.
I think this is common practice in many countries, I've used to live a man who was stealing power for his household use, wires were visible in the corridor but no one cared  We can only wonder what's happening in datacenters, powerplants etc. when there is such simple way to convert electricity and computing power into money.

Such practice is common in places where there is little or no control over public infrastructure. especially in government buildings where bills are paid directly by the Government.

Yeah, exactly, that's why he chosen railway station as railways are often controlled by government.

[pitiflin]

Although the Chinese regulatory bodies have maintained their distance from cryptocurrencies, it has not deterred the people in the country from partaking in the promising crypto mining industry – as a Chinese man was recently sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for stealing power from a train station to mine Bitcoin (BTC). The incident was reported by the local media outlet The Paper, on October 8, 2018.

https://btcmanager.com/chinese-man-prison-for-stealing-electricity-mine-bitcoin/

Oh well, he took the risk and now he is in jail.  I wonder how much he earn mining bitcoin  because it means that he knows what his doing is wrong but I guess he see the $$$ that's why its worth a try. hehehe.

Its not funny but at the same time its not a clever thing to do either. While there were so many ways to get electricity to mine bitcoin or any crypto, he chose to use Railway Electricity? Are you kidding me?

Stop trying to spread false news firstly, the man got arrested for stealing electricity and not for mining bitcoin, although I can definitely imagine China doing that, but that's not the case right now.

Plus, what was he thinking? He stole electricity and mined bitcoin? Out of all the efficient cryptos, he chose bitcoin, wow. Bitcoin mining is useless unless you have a big mining farm.

[pozmu]

Plus, what was he thinking? He stole electricity and mined bitcoin? Out of all the efficient cryptos, he chose bitcoin, wow. Bitcoin mining is useless unless you have a big mining farm.

I think he had ~800TH of hashing power, 50 ASICs, I think you could call this a farm.
He mined 3.2BTC in 4 months, I would say it's good money when you have free electricity.

[market-beta]

That's a very stupid thing, bro. why have to force yourself when investing / floating bitcoin. the most important thing is that as much effort as we can, do not violate state and religious law

[Indrawan77]

Well stealing is wrong, so the man need to face the consequences, I think its not a smart move to try to steal electricity to mine bitcoin, its very easy to detect electricity theft especially when you run it for 24 hours, and now the person need to pay the fine, the electricity and go to prison, nit a smart way to earn, and one things that catch my attention is the earning from mining is not profitable at all

[kotajikikox]

Sad for him, he need to face their sin to the government laws, stealing of electricity is criminal offense specially herein my country, this news is lesson for all people planning to invest in mining.

[coinwizard_]

I assume it wasn't just an old PC with a graphics card in it, he won't be able to mine much with that setup. Could be a full scale asics setup in a disused train shack, great place to hide and steal, or so he thought

[jseverson]

3.5 years is excessive though jesus. THREE YEARS just for stealing electricity? Man I am glad I don't live in China, sounds like a horrible place to live.

I think a more reasonable sentence is three months, or possibly even just long community service, what a joke.

He apparently stole $15k worth though (if I understood the article correctly anyway), which is already felony theft in the US. I tried to do a little research, and as far as the US goes, it apparently comes with up to 5 years of prison time along with a fine, but it's still largely up to the judge. I know China's human rights record is spotty at best, but this doesn't look overly oppressive to me.

But yeah, play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

[Privatoria]

There are many such thieves now, not only in China. There is a category of people who consider themselves the most intelligent and exceptional, who steal electricity, thinking that if it is invisible, then no one will notice.

[pixie85]

He knew what he was doing. China is against mining, even if you want to pay for electricity and stealing is a crime, even if you're not mining. He combined both of them and got caught. I think that it's a high sentence because he didn't hurt anyone. He stole from the government which is the biggest thief in every country.
Mining is easy if you steal power. The access to mining equipment is easy in China and even old miners are profitable if you have free power.

[kenel]

severe laws will not allow to joke with the authorities of China. but I do not understand why bitcoin?