Three detained for spreading rumour about families getting millions for Shenzhen home demolitions
Two men and woman made up story to attract more readers to their public social media account, police say
Three people have been placed in detention for five days after fabricating a rumour that each household in a suburban village in Shenzhen would get compensation of at least 200 million yuan (HK$229 million) for the demolition of their homes to make way for a commercial project.
Two men and one woman made up the story and published it on a public account they run on WeChat, which later was widely shared, Shenzhen police said on Wednesday.
The three made up the story to attract more readers and they were detained for spreading rumours, the police statement said.
One WeChat post said the village famous for its jewellery making industry, parts of which were targeted for demolition by the local government, held a banquet for 530 tables to celebrate the huge amount of compensation residents were offered.
It joked there were still 38 men and 83 women in Shuibei who were single and urged readers to date them.