A man in Shenmu county, Shaanxi province, found his ID card was invalid when trying to board a flight in October and police said the card had been issued in error in 2011, cnwest.com reported on Friday.

The man, surnamed Feng, admitted he spent 33,000 yuan ($5,450) in 2011 to get a new hukou, or permanent household registration, and thus a new ID card, in order to buy an apartment in Xi'an, the provincial capital, which has a restriction on property buying.

Feng also paid a real estate agent to help him become registered in the province's Jiaxian county. With the hukou and ID issued on Nov 10, 2011, Feng purchased the property and took out a mortgage.

In October 2013, when Feng tried to board a flight using the ID card, he was told it was false and fined 1,000 yuan. Feng then checked his hukou in Jiaxian county and found that it had been cancelled on March 23, 2013.

Chang Jinye, head officer of the police station in Jiaxian county which registered Feng's new hukou, said it had been a mistake to register the hukou in the county and it was invalidated when the information was checked in 2013. He said the police did not receive any money for the registration, according to the report.

The real estate company said the agent concerned had resigned and the purchase contract is invalid as Feng used a fake ID. The company can return his down payment but no other compensation. Feng can resort to legal procedures for other damages, they suggested.