Despite her relief, Wang was still dissatisfied. "I left my home address and phone number with the public security bureau in 2003, and there were plenty of other ways they could have contacted me, so how could such a drama still happen? How could the fake ID card and hukou exist for such a long time?" she said.
Since the case was resolved, the mother of two has regained her confidence and has studied the law related to identity issues.
As a result of the case, Wang appeared on television many times, piquing the curiosity of her 7-year-old daughter.
"She kept asking me why I was on the TV. I couldn't explain, I just told her to study hard and go to college. I still believe knowledge can change a person's destiny," she said.
Now, 13 years after her name was stolen, Wang still wants to study at university and is determined to fulfill her ambition.
Ongoing deception
Unlike Wang, Liu is awaiting the results of further investigations into her case.
In late September, Liu and her husband tried to buy a car, but she was told that her identity information was incorrect. "To my surprise, an online identity system showed another woman's photo on my ID card," she said.
In 2005, a woman surnamed Cheng transferred Liu's ID number and hukou certificate to the Dongcheng district of Beijing, which led to Liu's household registration in her hometown being nullified in 2010, according to a report issued by Beijing police on May 2.
"That is to say, I had not existed since 2010," Liu said.
An investigation showed that having graduated from a vocational school in Henan in July 2004, Cheng had tried to find a job in Beijing, but her attempts were stymied by a ruling that all graduates of universities outside the capital must provide proof of a degree.
With that in mind, one of Liu's colleagues, who was a friend of Cheng, borrowed Liu's graduation certificate issued by Henan University to help Cheng apply for a job in the capital.
Once in possession of the certificate, Cheng's father used it to help his daughter find a job in Beijing and also "transferred" Liu's hukou and ID card to the capital.
Later, when the authorities began a crackdown on ID fraud, they discovered the anomaly, but rather than investigating the case, the police in Beijing and Henan simply canceled Liu's hukou in Henan.
When the deception was uncovered, police in Beijing revoked Cheng's Beijing residency permit and issued Liu with a new one on April 30. Liu said she didn't really question why her colleague wanted to use her graduation certificate, but she never expected so much "drama" to result from her actions.
The police said investigations are ongoing and suitable punishments are being considered for the police officers involved.
Calls for tougher punishments
Ruan, the criminal lawyer, said that he had encountered similar cases when dealing with unrelated legal issues for clients in the provinces of Anhui and Jiangsu.
