A Karachi sessions court on Wednesday acquitted three Chinese nationals over charges of allegedly skimming ATM machines in the metropolis in 2018, sentencing a fourth to four years imprisonment and a fine of Rs1 million.

The verdict was announced by District and Sessions Judge Amjad Ali Bohio. The judge noted that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges against Zhu Yu Ping, Zeng Chun Yau and Ziao Jianjun, and acquitted them on the basis of benefit of doubt.

However, the judge ruled that the prosecution had successfully proven charges against Liu Liming, and awarded him a four-year jail term while also imposing a fine of Rs1 million.

Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials had booked and detained the four men for stealing data and money from an ATM machine in Karachi's Defence Housing Authority (DHA).

According to the prosecution, the foreigners were found stealing data and money from banks by installing a skimming device at an ATM in DHA, Phase 2 on Jan 14, 2018.

Initially, three of the men were arrested by police, who claimed to have seized Rs2.3 million and at least 350 different ATM cards from their possession. Their accomplice was later arrested on the information provided by the suspects.

All four men were handed over to the FIA, which booked them under the relevant sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act, 2016.

An earlier version of this story erroneously reported the convicted person's sentence as six months. The error is regretted.