The Chinese tech-savvy miscreants responsible for the ‘Panda Burns Incense’ virus have been given stiff jail sentences for their involvement in an illegal online gambling operation. On Wednesday, Li Jun and Zhang Shun were sentenced to three and five years respectively for their roles in facilitating the Gold Ingot Chess and Card site, which Chinese authorities shut down in May 2012. Xinhua reported that the Liandu District People’s Court of Lishui City in Zheijang province also slapped Li and Zhang with fines of RMB 80k (US $13k) and 200k ($33k) respectively.
Li and Zhang were among 26 defendants charged in connection with the illegal gambling site, which reportedly earned its backers RMB 8m ($1.3m) before it was taken offline. However, the two coders stood out from the rest of the defendants because they had received multi-year sentences in 2007 over their malware-related shenanigans, which stole passwords for millions of online gaming and instant messaging accounts when the Trojan Horse hit the internet in 2006. Li was released three years into his four-year sentence, after which he’d pledged to engage in only “white hat” online activities. Does anyone know what color hats Chinese prisoners are issued?
Over in Hainan province, five police inspectors have been given their walking papers after an investigation revealed they were behind the operation of a number of illegal gambling dens. The dens were raided on Jan. 3, resulting in the seizure of 88 illegal gambling devices and the detention of 109 suspects. The names of the five bad lieutenants have been reported to the provincial public security bureau for further disciplinary measures.
CHINESE HIGH ROLLER BRING GUNS TO A KNIFE FIGHT
Police in the Philippines are still trying to figure out why a Chinese high-roller was found to be carrying a small arsenal of weapons when he was arrested in late December outside Resorts World Manila in Pasay City. Jerry Sy, a 46-year-old Chinese national and a Resorts World Platinum cardholder, was arrested after attempting to stab another Chinese national – casino agent Joseph Ang – in the facility’s VIP parking area early one morning.
When police arrived on the scene, Sy fled toward his car, at which point two 9mm clips fell from his pockets. A subsequent search of Sy’s Honda Accord uncovered an automatic rifle, a 9mm Glock pistol, a .380 caliber pistol and two .22-caliber pistols (all with the serial numbers filed off and equipped with silencers), as well as three Belgian fragmentation grenades, smoke bombs, knives, a hammer, a Taser, metal ‘tetsubishi’ Ninja spikes, a couple hundred rounds of ammunition and several packets of suspected methamphetamine. Police are still investigating precisely why Sy was packing so much heat, but Sy isn’t cooperating. Chief Superintendent Jose Erwin Villacorte said police were proceeding on the theory that Sy was a gang enforcer who had attacked Ang over casino debts. Either that, or just a major fan of John Woo movies.
