Dim stories related to iPhone

Editor's note: The growing thirst for iPhones in China has caused some unfortunate cases. Thefts and robberies are on the rise, as even children become targets of crime. Priorities and values are being compromised as some fans will stop at nothing to attain the coveted  smartphone, with sometimes tragic results, showing the dark side affect of  "crazy" obsession of iPhones.

Editor: Gao Qihui

• Student with iPhone becomes target
• Thief tracks iPhone over hundreds of miles
• Teacher shocked by popularity of iPhone
• Man robs hotel to buy iPhone for girlfriend
• Students sells kidney for iPhone, iPad
• Fake iPhone deal gone awry leads to murder
• HK girl caught smuggling 30 iPhones
• IPhone 4S sales halted in Beijing Apple store

Scalpers

Scalpers dial up trouble for iPhone release

Conflicts among hundreds of scalpers raring to stock up on the new iPhone 4S are casting a shadow over the gadget's launch on the Chinese mainland.

Over the weekend, scalpers from two groups bickered and shoved each other when standing in line to purchase iPhone 4 at Apple's Sanlitun store, said witnesses.

Workers from two Apple stores in Beijing told China Daily the stores have not started online bookings for the iPhone 4S so far.

"More than 1,000 of us have gathered to buy all the available iPhone 4 this morning," said a scalper hawking the phone outside the Sanlitun store on Sunday.

Lottery

HK girl caught smuggling 30 iPhones

A 12-year-old Hong Kong girl was caught trying to bring 30 new iPhone4s into the mainland through Luohu port in the southern city of Shenzhen, Guangzhou Daily reported.

The cell phones were tightly bound inside the middle school girl's school uniform, but she seemed too nervous while crossing the customs port on April 20, arousing the suspicion of customs officers.
The girl's mother had gotten the girl to attempt the smuggling. The value of the 30 phones is about 124,000 yuan, and she was promised 600 yuan if she succeeded.

A high school student from Anhui province sold one of his kidneys for an iPad and iPhone, voc.com.cn reported in April.

Wang Wei, 17, who did not have money to buy an iPad or iPhone, learned from an online illegal agent in 2011 that he could get 20,000 yuan for selling one of his kidneys.

In April 2011, Wang secretly left home for Binzhou in Hunan province, under the agent's arrangement, for the kidney transplant operation. The operation was conducted on April 28, and Wang got 22,000 yuan as payment.

After buying an iPad and iPhone, Wang went back home, but his kidney deal was quickly discovered by his mother, who immediately reported to the police.

Without one kidney, Wang's physical condition got worse and he was diagnosed with a third-class disability.

Hazard

Student with iPhone becomes target

A man surnamed Yu did not expect that buying an iPhone for his 15-year-old son would invite two robberies, which finally led him to transfer his son to another school, the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald reported in April.

At the beginning of this year, Yu bought a coveted iPhone 4S for his son. When Yu's son took the phone to school in Changsha city, Hunan province, he attracted a lot of attention from peers about the fashionable and "highly-admired" device.

The first robbery occurred in February. Yu's son was intercepted by three people while walking around outside school with his classmates. He struggled to protect his iPhone and only let the robbers take some cash, but received a beating.

On March 1, he was targeted again, especially for his phone. Yu' s son was lured out to ride a motorcycle by his classmates, who collaborated with the thieves to steal the phone.

Facing too much pressure, Yu decided to transfer his son to another school.

Love

Man robs hotel to buy iPhone for girlfriend

To buy an iPhone for his girlfriend, a young man surnamed Chen took the risk of robbing a hotel safe in 2011 in Nan'an city, East China's Fujian province, fjsen.com reported in February.

The unemployed Chen, 17, who felt ashamed about being supported by his girlfriend, was eager to do something for her.

But his primary motivation was to buy an iPhone for his girlfriend.

On Dec 28, 2011, Chen and three accomplices subdued a guard at a hotel, broke into an office and carried away a safe, which contained 330,000 yuan in cash and a Rolex watch.

Chen was so excited that he took a photo with the pile of cash and forwarded the photo to his new iPhone.

Shocked

Teacher shocked by popularity of iPhone

A teacher surnamed Li was astonished by the number of iPhones among her students at a private primary school in Qixia district in Nanjing city, Jiangsu province, Modern Express reported on April 19.

During a spring outing, Li found her new iPhone had run out of power and wanted to borrow a phone from students. When the students took out their phones, Li found more than 10 students using iPhones, which astonished her.

Some students who did not own an iPhone couldn't help but show their discontent when they got home and demanded a new iPhone.

Enticement

Thief tracks iPhone over hundreds of miles

The iPhone's "charm" can even drive an admirer to travel hundreds of miles to steal it, the Bandao Metropolitan News reported in March.

Wu Dong, a 25-year-old man from Handan city in North China's Hebei province, learned in early 2012 that Chen Jian, a man living in the same community, had an iPhone 4S and decided to steal it.

In order to get the phone, Wu tracked Chen for more than three months and followed him over hundreds of miles to Nanyang city of neighboring Henan province. Finally, Wu snuck into Chen's hotel room and took his phone and wallet, but was immediately discovered by Chen.

Eventually, Wu was caught by local police.

Revenge

Fake iPhone deal gone awry leads to murder

A man who was deceived into buying a fake iPhone from a swindler unintentionally killed a passer-by during his fight with vendors in Zhengzhou city of Central China's Henan province, Oriental Today reported in March.

On Feb 25, Feng Weijun bought an "iPhone" for 2,000 yuan from two vendors who claimed it was an authentic iPhone, around Zhengzhou Railway Station.

However, Feng soon found the cellphone to be fake and went back to the site in an attempt to seek a refund. At the site, he met another victim, and they decided to search for the swindlers together. Finally they found Zhang Guofeng, who sold the fake phone to the other victim, but Zhang was not Feng's target.

After Feng helped the other victim get his money back, he continued to look for the men who sold him the phone in the following days.

On Feb 28, when Feng encountered Zhang and his colleagues again, Zhang's provocation led to a fight.

During the fight, Feng accidentally stabbed his knife into the leg of a passer-by, who was trying to stop Feng from stabbing anyone. Unfortunately, the passer-by died from losing too much blood, as one of the main blood vessels was broken.