Two arrested for spreading AIDS panic
(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2005-12-21 09:51

Two Shanghai men have been arrested on suspicions they spread a rumor that thieves were threatening to inject people with a needle tainted with AIDS affected blood if they didn't hand over their belongings.

The rumors have been a very hot issue on busses, subways and the Internet since last week.

Police said they have investigated the stories about AIDS-needle attacks and found them to be totally baseless.

The two suspects, a man surnamed Wu and a vocational school student surnamed Gui, have been detained on charges of disturbing social order.

Police said their investigation showed the rumor originated from a private talk between two vocational school students recently.

Wu, who lives in Jiading District, overheard the discussion and posted a story about it in an online chatroom, according to police. From there, the rumor spread quickly throughout the city.

Gui also heard the story and sent a short message about it to many of his friends, creating a second channel for the rumor to spread, police said.