A man in Huayin, Shaanxi province, took nude photos to use in blackmail, but the date on the photos thwarted him.

The man, surnamed Yun, booked a room in a local hotel for a week and installed a video camera in it. On May 16, he took a woman to the room and recorded the two of them making love. Then, with a printer he took to the room, Yun printed several photos from the video as well as a blackmail letter.

Yun took the photos and letter to the hotel manager for compensation, but was refused. Then Yun reported to police that he was being blackmailed.

Police found that the date on the photos Yun provided was Jan 1, 2011, which was the default setting of the printer, and asked Yun why the date was not the time he stayed in the room.

Yun could not explain this.

Later the police found other evidence and Yun confessed that he had been trying to blackmail the hotel.

Yun was detained and investigations are continuing.