A school in east China stole the identity of 218 teachers and used them to take out mortgages of 18 million yuan (US$2.8 million).

The No. 5 Middle School in Shanxian County, Shandong Province, falsified documents and signatures to secure mortgages from the Industry and Commerce Bank of China, China National Radio reported yesterday.

The personal information of some teachers was used several times to apply for loans. The school even paired up male and female teachers by falsifying marriage certificates.

The teachers knew nothing until some applied for their own loans. One, Wei Anting, the school's union president, found he had at least two mortgages registered in his name.

The fake mortgage documents were littered with mistakes, such as wrong names, birth dates and other inaccurate information. Nonetheless, the applications passed review by the local housing authority and the bank.

The housing authority director, surnamed Li, said the loans were approved due to "an oversight." The bank official who granted the loans was fined 2,000 yuan by the bank.