BEIJING: A massive hospital appointment scalping ring in China’s northeastern city of Shenyang was dismantled after police found the group had “stolen” more than 7,500 appointments and pocketed over 510,000 yuan in illegal profits within six months. The sophisticated syndicate, which relied on both technology and former hospital insiders, preyed on desperate patients struggling to secure slots at top hospitals in the Liaoning provincial capital. For many patients, securing an appointment at a Shenyang hospital had become a frustrating battle: online slots vanished within seconds, and offline queues stretched endlessly.
Amid this desperation, a shadowy group of “ticket scalpers” thrived, promising families “speedy registration for any department, any checkup” for a hefty markup.
The crackdown began in August when Shenyang police noticed unusual activity in several hospitals’ registration systems. After nearly a month of investigating access logs and payment records, a criminal network emerged: nine scalper gangs and 75 people operating a three-step scheme: snatch, hoard, and resell appointments. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
