Two technicians, aged 32 and 33, were arrested by Hong Kong police on suspicion of stealing electricity to power a bitcoin mining operation. The suspects allegedly also stole electricity from two care homes for the disabled operated by Hong Kong Association for the Spastics (SAHK).
As per a South China Mining Post report, the suspects set up eight mining devices in the suspended ceilings of two offices, ending up using their electricity and internet connections 24 hours a day.
Their actions were uncovered when the institutions experienced slow internet connections, later realizing their August electricity cost had spiked by HK $8,000 to HK $9,000, much higher than usual: approximately $1,153 more per home.
As per the police report, five of the mining devices used were found in a Sham Shui Po institution and another three at a care home in Kwun Tong.
“After in-depth investigation and analyses, police found that the two men from an engineering company took the opportunity of the facilities upgrading in August and connected the mining machine to the institutions’ and power system,” said Police Inspector Ng Tsz-Wing.
However, the actual names of the institutions were not mentioned in the report, creating curiosity why the police withheld that information from the public.
In Hong Kong, under the Theft Ordinance, any person found guilty of using or diverting electricity without electricity and causing wastage could face five years imprisonment.
Bitcoin mining requires a lot of electricity, which can be expensive and cause a lot of losses if done illegally, since it requires computers with high computing capacities to solve complex mathematics problems.
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