Society

5 detained for spreading quake rumors in N China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-02-25 09:39

TAIYUAN: Authorities in north China's Shanxi Province confirmed Thursday that five people had been detained in spreading earthquake rumors in the province.

The suspects were identified as Fu Wenhui, 20, Li Jinrong, 35, Han Yueyue, 20, Zhang Xin, 20, and Zhu Hongguo, 24. They were given punitive detainment ranging from five to ten days, but both Zhang and Zhu were also ordered to pay a fine of 500 yuan (US$74), said a spokesman for Shanxi Provincial Bureau of Public Security.

Except Fu, a college student, the rest were all migrant workers. Four of the suspects -- Fu, Li, Zhang and Zhu were natives of Shanxi, and the last suspect, Han Yueyue is from Huaiyuan County, east China's Anhui Province, according to the spokesman.

During interrogation, the five confessed to have spread rumors on an online chatroom run by Baidu.com, a leading Chinese search engine, or via text messaging, saying a 4.8-magnitude quake was to hit parts of the coal-rich province.

The rumors sent tens of thousands of panic-stricken residents in central Shanxi, including Jinzhong, Taiyuan, Luliang, Changzhi and Yangquan, to streets starting Saturday evening. Many people spent the night outdoor.