Online rumormonger now behind bars

The suspect who fabricated a sex scandal in 2012 involving a female executive with the State-owned China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) has been put in criminal detention, the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau said on Monday.

Fu Xuesheng, the suspect, alleged that Zhang Qin, an executive with the China Petrochemical International under Sinopec, accepted the service of two African male sex workers.

Agilent Technologies, the US-based high-tech company which allegedly arranged the sex workers, ended up winning a $2.3-million contract in a Sinopec-led project in Hubei Province.

In August, Fu also accused Ma Huaihai, head of Shanghai's Jinshan District Public Security Bureau, of severe disciplinary violations. Fu claimed that Ma had more than 10 mistresses and accepted bribes of over 2 billion yuan ($327 million). Ma was since charged in the murder of a businessman surnamed Huang, who died in May.

The Shanghai police said many Net users were hired to spread the rumors, which were started by Fu out of a personal vendetta.

Zhang, the female executive, said the rumor accusing her of soliciting prostitutes has smeared the reputation of her family. Her parents, who are in their 80s, were hospitalized after the incident.

Fu could face libel charges and be imprisoned for up to three years, Xu Xiaojie, a lawyer from the Shanghai-based Co-effort Law Firm, told the Global Times, adding that a rumor can be considered as libel if it has caused a huge negative impact by spreading harsh words widely in public.

Fu's detention on August 20 came amid a campaign launched by the Ministry of Public Security in an effort to crack down on online rumors.

In the latest cases, Liu Hu, a reporter with the Guangzhou-based New Express, was put under criminal detention for fabricating rumors. Liu earlier filed a real-name report against Ma Zhengqi, deputy director of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.

Zhou Lubao, a whistle-blower, was also detained for allegedly publishing negative reports online, and then extorting money from those involved, the ministry said Sunday.

The detentions have made many people wonder if the online anti-graft drive would be affected, after Shanghai police said rumors could be fabricated under the guise of whistle-blowing.

However, Xu said that real-name reports would not be taken as rumors so long as enough evidence is provided. Four Shanghai court officials have been punished after a video clip showing them soliciting prostitutes in June went viral online.

The police in Shanghai have detained more than 170 people for being involved in 380 such cases.