(Yicai Global) July 3 -- A fresh graduate of the Renmin University of China was detained by Beijing police today for allegedly illegally acquiring and leaking the personally identifiable information of students at the prestigious university.

A 25-year-old suspect, surnamed Ma, was taken into custody by police in Beijing’s Haidian district upon being notified by the university, and the case is still under investigation, according to a police statement made today.

The police take the protection of citizens' personal information very seriously and will deal severely with any related crimes in accordance with the law, it said.

Although the police statement did not go into any detail, some netizens have revealed that while Ma was studying for a Master’s degree, he stole the personal data of all the university’s students. He then created a website to which he uploaded the pictures, full names, dates of birth, hometowns and other personal details and asked people to rate their appearance. He even posted messages on social media to draw attention to his site.

Ma was working in the search algorithm division of internet giant Tencent Holdings’ instant messenger WeChat when the incident came to light and was immediately suspended. The company will not take further action until the police report is released. WeChat has yet to make a public statement on the matter.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor