An AI facial recognition software has helped catch a murder suspect in China after attempting to take out a loan online under the guise of his dead girlfriend.
Caught After Attempting To Scan Dead Girlfriend's Face
The 29-year-old man named Zhang was accused of murdering his girlfriend. He was caught after he tried to scan her dead face to apply for a loan.
Citing the Xiamen Evening News, the South China Morning Post reported that officers in Fujian province caught Zhang while he was trying to burn the body on a remote farm.
They were earlier tipped off by staff of an online lending company after an odd incident with the facial recognition software they use.
Zhang is suspected of strangling the woman with a rope in Xiamen on April 11 after an argument about money, and she threatened to leave him. Zhang then brought the body with him to his hometown Sanming, hiding the dead woman in the boot of a rented car.
After the woman's death, Zhang allegedly pretended to be the victim contacting the woman's employees using her WeChat account to ask for a leave at work.
AI Did Not Detect Eye Movement
When he arrived in Sanming on April 12, he attempted to apply for a loan using the Money Station app, which uses artificial intelligence to verify the identity of the applicants. The process involves asking the applicants to wink their eyes.
The technology, however, did not find signs of eye movement. Manual check also revealed of bruises on the woman's face and a thick red mark around her neck. The voice recognition software likewise detected that it was a man who was actually trying to apply for the loan and not a woman.
The red flags prompted staff at the lender to contact the police.
Zhang is accused of using his girlfriend's phone to take 30,000 yuan (US$4,200) from her bank account, and lying to her parents about taking her away for a few days to relax.
A trial date for Zhang has not yet been announced.
