Detention for spreading Sars rumour

A CHINESE man has been sentenced to two years of “labour re-education” for spreading rumours of an outbreak of the Sars virus in the northern city of Baoding.

The man, surnamed Liu, was sentenced to labour re-education “in accordance with the law”, according to a police statement.

Liu worked as an administrator for a website and in an attempt to improve traffic spread “false information” that a Baoding hospital had confirmed a case of Sars, the statement said.

“The false information … had an impact and disrupted the social order,” the statement said.

In 2003, Chinese officials covered up the spread of Sars, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, for weeks before a growing death toll and rumours forced the government to reveal the epidemic, apologise and vow full candour in future disease outbreaks.

The disease, which emerged in southern China in late 2002, spread rapidly to other cities and countries in 2003. More than 8,000 people were infected and 775 died.

In the latest incident, China’s health ministry denied that Sars had resurfaced in Hebei province, where Baoding is located.