A man in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province, who set up candid cameras to capture the private moments of more than 600 people in hotel rooms, was recently sentenced by the Fuzhou Gulou District People's Court to seven months in jail for "illegally using special equipment", triggering widespread discussion on social networking sites.

There have been various cases of criminals using eavesdropping tools to illegally make private videos of hotel guests and selling those to the porn industry. Such acts not only seriously undermine people's right of privacy but also affect social stability. Many people now feel unsafe staying in hotels, as there is no way they can be sure there is no hidden camera illegally filming their private moments. And by the time they find their private acts have been illegally made public, they suffer irreparable damage, and there is hardly anything they can do to stop the circulation of such videos.

Therefore it is a relief to see the violator, surnamed Chen, being punished according to the law. However, the incident has provoked discussions online on whether the existing legal punishment is too light considering the irreparable damage caused to those whose privacy has been compromised.

The violators have only been accused of illegally using special equipment instead of the more serious act of violating others' privacy or illegally circulating pornography.

Even if the suffering caused to those whose privacy has been compromised is addressed, the low cost of getting caught is certainly not going to deter the violators from engaging in an activity that earns them huge money.

Many are leaving comments on social networking sites asking legal authorities to tighten the screws on the violators through judicial verdicts.

If the legal punishment remains insufficient, it can hardly achieve the goal of effectively restraining crime and protecting privacy of people.

It is also the responsibility of hotels to provide guests a safe environment in their rooms, rather than sitting quietly while their guests' privacy is violated.