CHINA: 50-Year Old Woman Held For Internet Lies

BEIJING (China Daily - AP), October 10, 2007: The China Daily newspaper has reported on its Web site that a 50-year old woman, identified only by her surname Chen, pretended to be a 15-year-old girl who became pregnant after being raped by her stepfather. She started posing as the girl, calling herself Little Raindrop. "She fabricated rumors and mislead the public," said Wang Bing, an official with the propaganda department of the Tianqiao District Public Security Bureau in Jinan city. Chen was detained Sunday and would be held for ten days though she has not been charged with any crime, Wang said. "We're discussing further punishment, maybe re-education through labor," he said. It was not immediately clear how police managed to track down Chen. The woman, who is divorced and has one grown daughter, told people during online chats that her stepfather kept her locked up at home, arousing concern among her Internet friends who reported the case to local police, the China Daily said. "Some warmhearted netizens posted details of Little Raindrop's story to the big Internet forums where it became a hot topic and got more than 300,000 hits," Jinan's local Qi Lu Evening News reported on its Web site. By Alexa Olesen Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.