March 24, 2003
SMS, a new weapon used by the police
Chinese officials are hoping to drive crooks crazy, and make them give up crime, with a relentless barrage of messages sent to their cellphones, according to an article in Nando News.
The campaign targets people who paste postcard-sized ads in public places leaving their mobile numbers and offering fake ID cards or academic certificates. Law enforcers have recorded the numbers and sent out the following message at intervals of 20 seconds: "You have broken the law by posting illegal ads. You must immediately stop this activity and go to the Hangzhou Urban Administrative Bureau for punishment."
A similar battled was waged in the Netherlands in 2001, when the Amsterdam police sent out SMS messages every three minutes to stolen cell phone numbers, saying: "This cell phone has been stolen. To buy it or sell it is a crime. The Police."
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