Zheng and Peng are operating the drone Photo: Web

Two men were detained by the police in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province for flying drones in apparent defiance of a newly announced ban in the host city for the upcoming 19th Asian Games, according to a statement released by the Hangzhou police on Monday.

The two men, surnamed Zheng and Peng, were sentenced to administrative detention by the public security authorities, which is the first case of administrative detention since the ban on drones went into effect due to the upcoming Asian Games and Asian Para Games.

In Monday's announcement, Hangzhou police reminded residents to strictly abide by the newly announced rule. The regulation calls for no drones to be deployed in Hangzhou from September 1 to October 28.

At around noon on Saturday, a patrol force noticed a drone flying over the Hangzhou International Expo Center. They immediately contacted the public security bureau and the two suspects were quickly caught, according to the police statement.

According to the police statement, Zheng said both he and Peng are drone enthusiasts. Although Zheng knew that Hangzhou had recently imposed a ban on drone flying, he still helped Peng to fly the drone.

In accordance with the provisions of the Law on Penalties for Administration of Public Security, a decision was made to give Zheng administrative detention of 10 days, with Peng getting seven days.

From September 1 to 9, the city's public security authorities investigated and dealt with 53 violations after the temporary controls on drones were imposed. Zheng and Peng were the first two offenders to be detained.

Global Times