Behind China’s landmark crackdown on the e-commerce and food-delivery sectors lies a darker narrative of resistance, secrecy and violence, after regulators uncovered a vast network of “ghost” bakeries and imposed a record fine on seven major platforms.

The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) levied a 3.6 billion yuan (US$528 million) fine on seven platforms run by PDD Holdings, Meituan, JD.com, Alibaba Group Holding and ByteDance, with the probe revealing a hidden office, violent clashes and an employee swallowing notes during questioning as firms desperately tried to shield data from investigators.

During an on-site probe in December, investigators struggled until late at night when they discovered a hidden office area as many employees were leaving for the day, according to a Monday report by China Quality Daily, a newspaper supervised by SAMR. As they tried to enter, one official, Guo Hui, had his hand crushed against a door by company staff, resulting in a fracture, the report said, without naming the company.

Xinhua News Agency on Saturday reported that the incident took place at Pinduoduo, the budget shopping site owned by PDD. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

The following night, investigators said PDD’s security head led a group that stormed the investigation site, shoving officers and knocking Guo to the ground, China Quality Daily said, adding that he was hospitalised with a head injury.

During a formal inquiry involving investigators, local police and market regulators, a PDD employee was caught passing secret notes with instructions – such as “silence” and “don’t speak” – to a colleague under questioning. When discovered, the worker crumpled the paper and swallowed it in front of the entire assembly of officials, the newspaper said.