Two local senior citizens were caught yesterday for allegedly spreading rumours related to the aftermath of Typhoon Hato on WeChat, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokeswoman Yeung Sau Chan said.
According to Yeung, the suspects, both surnamed Chao, are siblings. The brother is a 73-year-old businessman while the 68-year-old sister is unemployed.
Yeung said the police discovered yesterday that the male suspect claimed in “false” messages on WeChat that the government had blocked all information about the damage brought about by Typhoon Hato and that five corpses had been found in a car park in Fai Chi Kei.
The messages also claimed that neither did the government announce the details of the damage nor did it allow the media to report them, Yeung said, adding the messages also urged WeChat users to share them with others.
The police arrested the male suspect at his residential flat in Areia Preta, according to Yeung. They discovered on the brother’s mobile phone that he had sent the messages to at least 30 people and six groups.
The male suspect told the police that he had received the messages from his sister. Yeung said the police had also arrested the female suspect who said she had received the messages in a group chat.
Yeung appealed to residents not to share messages which have not been verified. Otherwise, the messages may cause public alarm, she said.
The suspects would be transferred to the Public Prosecution Office (MP), Yeung said, adding they could be fined or face up to six months behind bars
According to Yeung, the police are still looking for those who had sent the “fake” messages to the female suspect.
Judiciary Police (PJ) spokeswoman Yeung Sau Chan poses yesterday at a pressroom at the PJ headquarters in Zape yesterday. Photo: Iong Tat Choi
