Woman discovers hidden camera in hotel room on fifth day of stay; hotel denies responsibility

A woman surnamed Zhang discovered a camera concealed in an artificial flower vase in her hotel room at the 'Aiyou' themed hotel in Hengyang, Hunan Province on June 15, after five days of residence. Zhang had checked in on June 10 for an eight-night stay costing 648 yuan total. Upon discovering the device while organizing her cosmetics, she verified with friends and online research that it was indeed a camera before reporting the incident to police. The Hengyang Public Security Bureau's Zhuxi District Branch Huaxing Police Station filed a case report on the same day.

Hotel owner Liu denied that hotel staff placed the camera, stating that housekeeping staff had cleaned the room and lifted the flower pot on the second day of Zhang's stay without discovering any device. Liu emphasized that the camera was a large device requiring USB and electrical connections to function, making it unlikely to have been missed during cleaning. He noted that corridor surveillance cameras outside the room had clear coverage. Liu confirmed the hotel was cooperating fully with police investigations and had submitted one month of surveillance footage, along with fingerprints and footprints extracted by authorities.

Zhang reported experiencing psychological distress following the discovery, including anxiety, fear, poor sleep, and being diagnosed with 'adjustment disorder' at Nanhua University's Second Affiliated Hospital on June 18. She expressed primary concern about whether the camera captured private footage and whether any video was distributed. The hotel owner mentioned attempting reconciliation the day after the incident, but the parties did not reach agreement. Zhang stated the discovery has significantly affected her emotionally.

Market supervision officials who conducted inspections on June 18 confirmed the hotel's business license was valid, though they noted minor issues with signage that were ordered corrected. Regarding the specific circumstances of the camera discovery, authorities indicated they would await police investigation results. As of the latest reporting on June 19, police have retained the camera device, fingerprints, footprints, and hotel surveillance footage as evidence while conducting their investigation.