A man was convicted of fraud and sentenced to three years and three months in prison by a Shanghai court on Thursday for selling fake tickets to the city's Disney theme park.
The man, surnamed Zheng, was born in 1987 in Guangdong Province. He was found to have cheated 38 people out of more than 68,000 yuan (9,789.8 U.S. dollars) by selling fake tickets online.
Zheng bought an electronic ticket through Disney's official website earlier this year. He used software to change the number under the QR code, and entry dates were altered according to buyers' requests, according to the court.
As tickets were in short supply on the eve of the park's opening in June, many people fell into Zheng's trap.
More than 200 fake tickets were sold Zheng's online shop at taobao.com, printed and sent to buyers. Adult tickets were sold for 499 yuan each and children's tickets sold for 375 yuan each.
According to the people's court of Pudong district, Zheng confessed his crimes and handed in all his illegal earnings. The court also ruled that he should be fined 10,000 yuan.
The fraud victims have gotten refund from taobao.com, and Zheng's family is "trying hard" to compensate Taobao, China's leading online shopping platform.
China's top legislature is deliberating this week a draft law that will regulate and facilitate booming e-commerce in the country, including clauses that punish fraud and protect consumer rights.
The official Disney website shows single-day adult and children's tickets are priced at 499 yuan and 375 yuan respectively for weekends and 370 yuan and 280 yuan for weekdays.
