Online rumormonger set to be sentenced

Qin Zhijun, an alleged rumormonger, stood trial at the Chaoyang District People's Court in Beijing, capital of China, April 11, 2014. [Photo/Xinhua]

Microblogger Qin Zhihui, also widely known by his screen name Qin Huohuo, stood trial for defaming others and fabricating and spreading rumors online in Beijing on Friday.

Qin confessed to the charges on court, and apologized to the celebrities for defaming their reputation, saying he fabricated the rumors to get public's attention and spark discussion online. He added that he hoped to warn others not to do such a stupid thing.

The prosecutor said Qin's behaviors seriously harmed the social order, and he should be punished for defamation and causing disturbances, but noted that he can be given a lesser penalty since he readily confessed during the investigation, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The Chaoyang District People's Court did not issue a verdict on Friday.

Qin and Yang Xiuyu, founder of the Erma Interactive Marketing for which Qin worked, were arrested by Beijing police in September 2013 for creating a series of rumors, including the claim that Chinese government had paid 30 million euros ($41 million) to the family of a foreign passenger killed in a bullet train crash in Wenzhou in 2011.

To gain fame and profit, Qin defamed several social celebrities, including Yang Lan, a famous Chinese TV hostess, whom he said had swindled several billion yuan from stock markets. He claimed that Luo Yuan, a major general of the PLA Academy of Military Sciences, known for his media comments, was a wartime deserter, and that Luo's family members are living in the US.

Police said Qin had created and spread nearly 3,000 rumors online since 2010 on social media services.

On the court, Qin's lawyer argued that Qin didn't make up the rumors and did not spread them purposely. Some rumors had been distributed online by Net users for years, and Qin didn't verify the original stories before posting, the lawyer said.

This has been the first open case after authorities launched a crackdown on social media and the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate jointly issued a judicial explanation on illegal actions online in September.

According to the interpretation, online defamation will be considered serious if a post containing fabricated information is read 5,000 times or reposted over 500 times. Those who post such rumors can be charged under the Criminal Law, and may face up to three years in prison.

"With the crime of defamation and causing disturbances, Qin may face jail sentences from three to five years," Gao Ming, a lawyer at Wanfang Law Firm told the Global Times.

"Actually, cyberspace doesn't mean you can do anything. It offers people freedom, and also requires constraints." Gu Xiaoming, a professor of sociology at Fudan University, told the Global Times.