Pregnant bidder fined for disrupting auction of coveted phone number

A pregnant woman who reneged on her winning bid of 26.15 million yuan ($3.7 million) for a coveted phone number in a judicial auction has been fined 80,000 yuan ($11,400) but not detained due to her pregnancy, according to a notice issued by the People's Court of Zhenjiang Economic Development Zone in Jiangsu province on Tuesday.

The auction for the 11-digit phone number, ending with "999999," was held from Nov 24 to 25. The bidder, surnamed Xiao, was supposed to pay the balance by Sunday, but she refused to do so.

The auction page on Taobao, China's largest e-commerce platform, clearly states that buyers who maliciously raise the price or disrupt the order of the auction may be fined or detained by the court, and even be investigated for criminal liability.

Xiao's behavior disrupted the order of the auction, so she was fined 80,000 yuan in accordance with the law. However, given her pregnancy, she was not detained, the court said in the notice.

The court will reschedule a date to auction the phone number.