Beijing, March 5 (IANS) A Chinese man was punished with a five-day detention for spreading a rumour about an outbreak of hepatitis C disease.
Li, pretending to be a doctor and revealing hospital secrets, posted the purported outbreak report in an online forum in Zijin county of Guangdong Province. Many people saw the report and forwarded it to others, causing widespread panic, police said.
Police finally managed to trace Li after he posted the rumour Feb 26, the Shanghai Daily reported Monday.
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease affecting mainly the liver, caused by the hepatitis C virus.