A police officer checks the ID cards of migrant workers at train station in Foshan, Guangdong Province. Photo: CFP

A former student of Peking University who is alleged to have murdered his mother was apprehended by police after three years on the run with more than 30 identity cards on him, sparking concerns over identity theft and police calls for more awareness over personal safety. 

Wu Xieyu, 25, was arrested on April 21 at Jiangbei International Airport in Chongqing Municipality on suspicion of having killed his middle-school teacher mother Xie Tianqin in July 2015, allegedly over money. He had borrowed 1.44 million yuan ($214,000) under her name. Xie was found in February 2016, her body wrapped in plastic with activated carbon to disguise the smell. There had been no trace of Wu since then, when police offered a 50,000 yuan reward for information leading to his capture. 

The Beijing News reported that the ID cards Wu had were all bought online. 

A simple search for key words like "ID card" on major search engines like Baidu or messaging services like QQ reveals many offers for ID cards.   

A card without a digital chip that will pass a routine identity check only costs 200 yuan. For 600 yuan, with a photo and more personal information, you can buy an upgraded ID card that can pass a security check at a railway station, according to the Xinmin Evening News. The cards themselves are likely real, and have been lost, so the information on the digital chip may belong to the original owner, even if the photo and other details have been changed. 

A Beijing police officer surnamed Li from Chaoyang district, told the Global Times that despite several ID-related campaigns, the fake ID business is still rampant online.  

The case highlights that identity theft is still a major issue and the lack of information-sharing between different departments allows loopholes for criminal activity, and that the punishment is too lenient, experts said. 

"More state-of-the art technologies should be used in the future design of ID cards, so when someone reports the loss of their card, the ID chip is invalidated. They should roll out ecards as soon as possible," Tong Xiaojun, a professor from Social Work Research Center of China Youth University of Political Studies, told the Global Times. 

According to China's Law on Resident Identity Cards, those who purchase, sell, confiscate or counterfeit ID cards shall be fined between 200 yuan and 1,000 yuan, or detained for up to 10 days.