A farmer carries fertilizer at Dongzhuang Village of Guben Town in Jinping County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, April 6, 2018. Photo: Xinhua

A villager from North China has been released after being held in custody for eight days after he was accused of spreading rumors about a fertilizer brand, in a case that sparks controversy on social media with some netizens saying the man's detention was extreme. 

Local police in Hanggin Banner, Ordos, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region confirmed a man surnamed Liang was accused of spreading rumors and has been released after completing eight days of administrative detention, Red Star News, a Sichuan-based news site affiliated with Chengdu Business Daily, reported on Sunday.

Liang accused a brand of fertilizer of producing poor quality products in a social media chat group of some 50 people on August 25 and 26, according to a statement from the local police station, which released the information on its WeChat account on October 18.

Liang had not bought nor used the fertilizer, nor did he have any evidence proving his claims, the statement said, adding that the police held Liang for eight days in accordance with the Public Security Administration Punishments Law.

The law states that a person accused of disturbing public order by spreading rumors can be detained for between five and 10 days and fined.

Some netizens said the punishment was overkill, saying that spreading wrong information in a group of only about 50 people should be considered private and should not result in detention. Some even speculated that the fertilizer company used its connection with the police to silence a critic of its products.

The Red Star News report, which cited a police document, said Liang's social media criticisms led to more than 20 villagers making a banner, gathering and protesting and blocking an entrance. The newspaper report didn't mention where the entrance was located.

The internet is not a lawless place and net users should use more rationality and be less impulsive, the police said in the statement, adding that posting improper content and insulting others on the internet will be punished by law.  The statement didn't define what constituted an illegal insult to others. 

Global Times