A 17-year-old computer genius surnamed Ye shed tears as he was sent to a detention house in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, for stealing credit cards.

"I am sorry for violating laws, and I will take the bitter lesson to heart," he told public prosecutors.

Ye was detained in a hotel in Hechi, in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, one year ago, for having stolen and fraudulently used 208 credit cards valued at more than 420,000 yuan ($67,742), according to a statement released by the Guangzhou Yuexiu district people's procuratorate on Thursday.