THREE men have been sentenced to imprisonment by the Futian District Court for stealing 2.2 billion virtual coins from 700 online gamers last year, Thursday’s Daily Sunshine reported.

The leader of the trio, surnamed Dai, was jailed for two years, while his accomplices, surnamed Huang and Zhang, were sentenced to one year each. The three men earned 140,000 yuan (US$18,421) by selling the virtual coins.

According to Shenzhen-based China Games Center, the company producing the online game, 2.2 billion virtual coins are worth 275,000 yuan.

Last September, Dai, a 26-year-old Guangzhou resident, found a security loophole in China Games Center’s system. He accessed the system by planting a virus inside it, and stole the virtual coins. He then persuaded Zhang and Huang living in Jingzhou City, Hubei Province, to help him.

Zhang and Huang hired two other men and transferred all the virtual coins into their accounts within three days.

The trio sold the virtual coins for 140,000 yuan. Dai got 70,000 yuan, while Zhang and Huang got the remainder.

The three were arrested in Jingzhou in October last year and all pleaded guilty.

(Tan Xiaomi)