Suspect taken into custody for online rumors_美文

Suspect taken into custody for online rumors

Download

A self-proclaimed environmental protection activist has been detained by police amid an ongoing crackdown on online rumors.

Dong Liangjie, 47, has been placed under criminal detention on suspicion of "provocative and disturbing behavior", the Beijing Public Security Bureau said on Saturday.

Earlier reports said Dong was detained on Sept 11 in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, by Beijing police officers. Family members later confirmed the reports.

Dong is well known for his sensational claims on the Sina Weibo micro-blogging service that tap water in China "contains high level of contraceptive substances" with "unpredictable consequences".

He also said an abnormal concentration of lead had been detected in pork sold in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, and excessive levels of copper were found in pig livers in Huizhou, Guangdong province.

The remarks, forwarded by many Chinese Internet users, attracted widespread attention.

Police say Dong has confessed to fabricating all the claims and didn't have evidence to back them up, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Police also claim that Dong admitted to distorting the research findings of foreign experts to support his words.

"I am willing to apologize and would like to suggest that micro-bloggers should not follow my example," Dong said on a China Central Television program aired on Sunday.

"They must strictly abide by professional ethics when spreading scientific knowledge and regulate themselves when posting information online," he said from a detention center.