Suspects on the run in China may have to think twice before they decide to get tickets to see the ‘King of Pop’.
Using facial recognition technology, police in south-east China have arrested three fugitives within two months at the concerts of Hong Kong singer Jacky Cheung.
The third suspect, identified only as Yu, 35, was flagged by police on Sunday as he was going through security check before the show in Zhejiang province.
The third suspect, identified only as Yu, 35, was flagged by police on Sunday as he was going through security check before Jacky Cheung’s show in Zhejiang province, south-east China
‘Smiling as he walked through the body scanner to see his idol, he had no idea that he was already being watched,’ Jiaxing police said in a WeChat post on Monday regarding Yu’s arrest
Jacky Cheung performs onstage during his ‘A Classic Tour’ concert on October 14, 2017 in Tianjin, China. Police have arrested three wanted men in two months at this concerts recently
‘Smiling as he walked through the body scanner to see his idol, he had no idea that he was already being watched,’ Jiaxing police said in a WeChat post on Monday.
‘As soon as he passed through the scanner, the system alerted the security personnel. They were able to identify him as a suspect from Shandong province from a database,’ said Shen Yueguang, who manages surveillance data at the Nanhu District Public Security Bureau.
Yu was under investigation for not paying for about 110,000 yuan (£96,607) worth of potatoes he had bought in 2015 in Shangdong.
He has been living under a pseudonym and running a small hotel in Jiaxing, about 700km (435 miles) north, according to Zhejiang Online.
The first suspect, a 31-year-old man identified as Ao, was nabbed at Cheung’s concert on April 7 at Nanchang city. Police also spotted him using facial recognition technology
Police arrested the second man, Liu, on May 5 at Ganzhou city in Jiangxi province
Known as one Hong Kong’s ‘Four Heavenly Kings’, the star has been touring in various cities in China on his ‘A Classic Tour’. Now, Jacky Cheung has been dubbed ‘the fugitive trapper
Additional police officers were alerted to the sports stadium where the concert was held. However, they decided to wait and not cause a scene among the 20,000-strong crowd.
As soon as the concert ended and the lights came back on, police officers were able to arrest Yu among the audience leaving the stadium.
He has been sent to Jiaxing city detention centre and will be handed over to police in Shandong. The incident is still under investigation.
Known as one Hong Kong’s ‘Four Heavenly Kings’, the 56-year-old star has been performing in various cities in China on his ‘A Classic Tour’.
Now, Jacky Cheung has been dubbed ‘the fugitive trapper’ by net users.
China has been building the world’s most powerful facial recognition system (file photo)
This picture taken on July 11, 2017 shows a worker at a command centre of the Shanghai metro system. Last September, China installed over 20 million security cameras
Across China, 170 million CCTV cameras are already in place and an estimated 400 million new ones will be installed in the next two years
The first suspect, a 31-year-old man identified as Ao, was nabbed at Cheung’s concert on April 7 at Nanchang city.
Police was able to spot the wanted man in a crowd of about 60,000 people using facial recognition and arrested him for economic crimes.
The second man, Liu, was caught on May 5 at Ganzhou city, also in Jiangxi province. His crimes were unspecified.
The three incidents also inspired net users to parody the singer’s hit ‘She came to see my concert’.
Trending on Weibo, the lyrics now goes: ‘He came to see to my concert, I gave him a pair of handcuffs.’
The star will hold one of his upcoming concerts in Luoyang, Henan province – to which the local police said on Weibo: ‘We’re ready!’
Cheung has been on tour since late 2016, and is set to perform in other cities in China, Japan and Taiwan later in the year.
In Zhengzhou city, central China, transport police have been wearing high-tech sunglasses that can help them spot suspects within seconds in a crowded train station since February
Police in Shenzhen city has started to ‘name and shame’ unruly drivers and jaywalkers in April by projecting their faces on LED screens after identifying them from a database
China has been building the world’s most powerful facial recognition system.
Across the country, 170 million CCTV cameras are already in place and an estimated 400 million new ones will be installed in the next two years, according to the BBC.
It is part of China’s efforts to build a digital surveillance system able to use a variety of biometric data – from photos and iris scans to fingerprints – to keep close tabs on the movements of its 1.4 billion population.
The main goal is for the system to match someone’s face to their ID photo 90 per cent of the time.
In Zhengzhou city, central China, transport police have been wearing high-tech sunglasses that can help them spot suspects within seconds in a crowded train station since February.
At the same time, police in Shenzhen city, south-east China, has started to ‘name and shame’ unruly drivers and jaywalkers in April by projecting their faces on LED screens after identifying them from a database.
How do Chinese police catch criminals with facial-recognition sunglasses?
In China, the police are now wearing sunglasses equipped with facial-recognition technology to catch criminal suspects.
Transport police in Zhengzhou, central China, were given the cutting-edge gadgets in February to screen passengers and spot suspects in crowds at train stations.
A camera connected to the smartphone-like shades would allow the officers to take mugshots of the individual in question and compare them to a database back at headquarters.
Transport police in Zhengzhou, central China were given the cutting-edge gadgets in February to screen passengers and spot suspects in crowds at train stations
The system would then bring up the suspect’s personal information including name, ethnicity, gender and address. All the information would be transferred back to the officer’s glasses.
The glasses can also tell officers whether or not the targets are on the run from the law, the address of any hotel they are staying at and information related to their internet usage.
This is part of China’s efforts to build a digital surveillance system that uses a variety of biometric data – from photos and iris scans to fingerprints – to keep close tabs on the movements of its 1.4 billion population.
The technology has since allowed police in Zhengzhou to nab seven suspects.
They were accused of crimes ranging from human trafficking to hit-and-runs.
Another 26 people were caught using fake IDs, according to the state-owned People’s Daily, quoting the city’s police department.
The facial recognition sunglasses system was expanded to Beijing in March as well, particularly at highway checkpoints on the city’s outskirts.
The smart glasses can pick up facial features and car registration plates, and match them in real-time with a ‘blacklist’ of suspects, according to Reuters.
The rapid development of the technology has triggered a demand for commercial applications as well, with gyms, restaurants and even public toilets getting in on the facial recognition game.