The Zhou Zhenglong Fraud Case

• Author: China Law Digest

On October 3, 2007, Zhou Zhenglong, a farmer from Zhenpin town of Shaanxi province, claimed that he had caught a picture of a tiger on camera. This particular tiger, the “Wild Hua’nan Tiger,” belongs to a subspecies that is only found in China and has been extinct for decades. In October, the Department of Forestry of Shaanxi “confirmed” the veracity of the photo and awarded Zhou with 20,000 RMB.

After the incident, the Chinese media began a long-lasting debate on the veracity of the “photo of the Hua’nan tiger.” On February 4, 2008, the Department of Forestry of the Shaanxi government issued a public apology for hastily reporting the incident. In June, the department took disciplinary actions against thirteen of its officials. Zhou confessed to the police that the original picture on the photo had been taken from a photograph of the tiger.

In September 2008, Xunyang County Court of Shaanxi province at the first trial convicted Zhou on charges of fraud and illegal possession of firearms and sentenced him to two and one-half years in prison and issued a fine of 2000 RMB. At the second trial on November 17, Ankang City...