TechFlow News, April 3: According to China News Weekly, the Honggang District People’s Court in Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province recently issued a first-instance judgment. Two men were convicted of theft for illegally tapping into high-voltage power lines belonging to an oilfield to mine Bitcoin. The ringleader, Zhang Mou, was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment and fined RMB 50,000; the accomplice, Zhao Mou, received a sentence of four years and ten months’ imprisonment and was fined RMB 20,000.
According to the judgment, in September 2024, Zhang Mou illegally tapped into high-voltage power lines at a Daqing oil production plant and set up 24 Bitcoin mining rigs inside an abandoned pigsty he had leased. In December of the same year, Zhao Mou joined the operation knowing full well that Zhang Mou was stealing electricity, and purchased an additional 12 mining rigs, bringing their total number of operational rigs to 36. Both individuals were arrested by public security authorities in August 2025.
Calculations showed that Zhang Mou stole 565,375.2 kilowatt-hours of electricity, valued at RMB 438,580.52; Zhao Mou stole 468,060 kilowatt-hours, valued at RMB 363,750.78. The court held that both individuals committed the crime of theft, with Zhang Mou as the principal offender and Zhao Mou as an accessory. The court further ordered Zhang Mou to compensate RMB 438,580.52, while Zhao Mou bears joint liability for compensating RMB 363,750.78 of that amount. The seized mining rigs and related equipment are to be handled lawfully by the public security authorities.
