The Chinese man, only identified by his surname Huang, met his ex-girlfriend on the false pretence that they would discuss his repayment of debts from their relationship.

Instead, when she fell asleep, he unlocked her phone using her fingerprint and then accessed her banking app by lifting her eyelids in front of the phone camera.

Huang transferred around 150,000 yuan – nearly £18,000 – to his account and then left, leaving her to discover the theft when she woke up.

A court sentenced Huang to three years and six months’ imprisonment and a fine of 20,000 yuan, Global Times reports.