Four PCR test cheaters punished by city police

Four people have been punished for offering or seeking to cheat on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, Shanghai police said Thursday.

Among them, a 29-year-old man surnamed Chen and a 32-year-old man surnamed Li had offered on social media paid services to stand in to take PCR tests for others.

By the time the two were caught, they hadn't delivered the advertised service, according to police.

In another case, a 44-year-old man surnamed Liu, who lives in Hongkou District, made his neighbor, a 34-year-old man surnamed Lu, stand in to take a PCR test for him at their compound using Liu's PCR code.

The four all tested negative later, police said.

They have been given administrative punishments for failing to abide by orders issued by the municipal government in times of emergency.