Five arrested after filming of hoax goes wild on busy subway

SHENZHEN - Five people were arrested for shouting "get down!" and causing panic on a subway train in the southern city of Shenzhen while shooting a short video for online attention.

The five faced charges of fabricating terror for the incident on May 17, according to the Futian District People's Procuratorate in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

The procuratorate said on Monday that the suspects shouted "Everyone get down! Mind the landmine!" twice on a subway line during the evening rush.

Their first try aroused little attention, but the second try rattled passengers, who fled the train as it arrived at the station, and subsequent trains were delayed.

Investigations show that they were shooting a short video for online attention.

Online short video platforms have a huge following in China, attracting content creators from peasants to policemen to shoot video to entertain viewers or to promote their job, but the trend has also invited controversy for fueling public hoax and spreading rumors.