Woman jailed and fined for selling celebrities personal information

A woman surnamed Zhang was recently sentenced to seven months imprisonment for selling the personal information of some celebrities, the Beijing Chaoyang District People's Court said on Thursday.

Zhang, 22, was also fined 30,000 yuan ($4,241) and ordered to give a public apology for her offense, according to the court.

In addition, considering that Zhang's behavior had damaged the public interest, the woman was required to pay another 23,000 yuan to cover the damages, the court said, adding that the money will be handed over to the state treasury.

During the trial, Zhang pleaded guilty to the crime, saying that to get a close-up picture of her favorite star, she bought the star's flight information from another person surnamed Xu, who has been handled in a separate case.

After successfully photographing her idol, Zhang purchased flight information of some other celebrities, and helped fans take pictures of the stars in airports.

She posted the pictures on her social media platform, attracting netizens who also showed their interest in seeking flight information of celebrities. After finding that it was profitable, Zhang began buying and selling personal data online for about three years.

The court said that Zhang's acts had damaged the privacy of other people and the public interest, but given that she had confessed to the crime and voluntarily turned over her illegal gains, the court saw it fit to punish her leniently.