Man detained for spreading rumors about knife attack

A man who spread rumors on the Internet about the knife attack which left two dead and two others injured on Thursday morning has been detained, Shanghai police said on Saturday.

The 26-year-old man surnamed Wu claimed in a post on his public WeChat account that the attacker took his revenge on the school by killings because the school asked his child to quit but declined to return the "sponsorship money" he paid earlier.

The incident took place not far from the Shanghai World Foreign Language Primary School on Pubei Road, Xuhui District, where a man attacked three boy students and a female adult.

The murder suspect is a 29-year-old jobless man from central China's Hunan Province who arrived in Shanghai early this month, the prosecutors said on Friday.

Wu's WeChat post with rumors was forwarded "a great number of times" and resulted in "very negative social impacts," police said.

His WeChat account (Yu1-studio) has been shut down, Shanghai's cyperspace regulator said on Saturday.

Wu, who works as a real estate agent and usually posts real estate information on this WeChat account, has allegedly confessed that he spread the rumors to draw more readers and eventually gain more clients.

Seven others who also allegedly spread rumors about the attack were summoned by the police, and all eight have been given admonitions and legal education, police said, adding that all have expressed regret and promised to clear up the rumors.

Police said investigation is still underway.

Police warned that Internet is not above law and that there will be zero tolerance of any action of fabricating and spreading rumors which mislead the public and cause panic. Police also reminded netizens not to fabricate, spread or trust rumors.