A man in Zhejiang has been jailed for ten days and fined 500 yuan for allegedly spreading rumors that the water off the coast of China was contaminated by radiation from the Japanese nuclear plants. From Reuters:
Authorities in Zhejiang province said a computer company worker surnamed Chen spread fake information about nuclear contamination reaching waters off China’s eastern Shandong province, the online version of Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily reported on Monday.
In Chen’s comments posted on March 15 under the handle “Old Fisherman” he had urged people to spread the word about the radiation to family and friends, stockpile salt, and not consume products from the sea for a year, the report said.
Last week unfounded rumors about iodine in salt being able to stop radiation sickness rippled across China, causing panic buying of the typically plentiful product.
China has not found any abnormal signs of radiation following the damage at the Japanese nuclear plant, but it is checking imports of Japanese food for contamination.
