A former employee of a jewellery company in Zhuji, Shaoxing, China, was sentenced after exploiting an old employer’s online shopping system to buy two gold bars worth more than RM100,000 for just RM8.
The woman, identified as Zhan, was previously responsible for uploading products and adjusting prices in the company’s livestreaming store. Her mobile number had been linked to the shop’s backend system, giving her access to change product prices.
Although Zhan left the company in March 2026 following an internal staffing adjustment, her mobile number was not immediately removed from the system. The unresolved access later became the key to her scheme.
On April 7, reportedly still unhappy with her former employer, Zhan used a personal account to place an order for two 100-gram pure gold bars during the company’s livestream. The original price of the order was 104,100 yuan, but she used her remaining backend access to change the total to just eight yuan before completing the payment.
She then allegedly attempted to conceal her identity by providing a fake name, an abandoned phone number and an unrelated delivery address. After placing the order, she also deleted the account used to make the purchase.
The gold bars were subsequently processed, inspected and handed over for delivery as staff believed the order was legitimate. The company discovered the unusually low-priced transaction the following day and reported the matter to police.
Authorities managed to intercept the gold bars at a courier station before they reached the recipient. Zhan was arrested on the same day.
The case was later referred to the Zhuji People’s Procuratorate for further proceedings. Investigators found that Zhan had exploited a vulnerability in the company’s backend system to alter the order price, causing staff to mistakenly process and dispatch the gold bars as a genuine purchase.
Prosecutors determined that her actions constituted fraud. Following a prosecution filed on June 11, the court sentenced Zhan to eight months in prison, suspended for one year and six months, and fined her 30,000 yuan.
The case also serves as a reminder to businesses that employee access to internal systems should be promptly revoked when employment ends, particularly when those systems allow users to modify prices or process high-value transactions.
