A Chinese court has upheld a heavy sentence of 12 years and 7 months in prison for a Chinese man who secretly siphoned off and sold a friend's Bitcoin. According to the People's Procuratorate of Cangshan District, Fuzhou City, China, in late 2020, Mr. Lin was asked by the victim, Mr. Wang, to help him cash out his Bitcoin. During this process, Mr. Lin secretly stole the 'private key' of Mr. Wang's Bitcoin wallet from his computer and transferred 4 Bitcoins to his own account. He sold them, gaining an illicit profit of approximately 900,000 yuan (approximately 170 million Korean Won). Mr. Lin was arrested after Mr. Wang, who belatedly discovered the asset anomaly in 2024, reported it. The court upheld the original ruling from the first trial, sentencing him to 12 years and 7 months in prison and a fine of 300,000 yuan in the second trial as well.
