A CHINESE court jailed a blogger for three years Thursday, the first person to be sentenced in a government-led crackdown on Internet rumors.
Qin Zhihui, better known by his online alias, Qin Huohuo, was found guilty of slander and picking quarrels and provoking troubles. Prosecutors at Beijing Chaoyang District People’s Court said Qin had “impacted society and seriously harmed social order” by posting a series of inaccurate reports on Sina Weibo, a Chinese equivalent of Twitter.
The 30-year-old, a native of Hunan Province, had posted several false reports, including one saying Beijing had granted 200 million yuan (US$32.2 million) in compensation to a foreigner who died in a high-speed train crash in Wenzhou City in Zhejiang Province in July 2011. He also posted comments on microblog to slander Chinese popular television hostess Yang Lan as well as China Disabled Persons’ Federation president Zhang Haidi.
Qin said he will not appeal to a higher court.
Reports said Qin had run a “black PR” firm, taking money from companies to post comments online discrediting rivals. He pleaded guilty and apologized for his crime at a hearing last week.(SD-Agencies)
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