SHANGHAI - A netizen surnamed Chen in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, was held in custody for 10 days and fined 500 yuan ($76) by local police on Sunday for spreading salt rumors online last Tuesday.

Working at a computer company, the 31-year-old man posted a hoax on a local online forum, saying that the radiation leaked from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan had polluted the sea off the coast of eastern Shandong province. He encouraged people to store salt and dried kelp. He also said they should try to avoid eating seafood for a year.

The post spread rapidly on the Internet and caused local residents to panic, according to the police.