The fate of a teenage prankster remained uncertain on Thursday after his false story and phony TV news screen grab featuring his school principal under arrest for prostitution went viral last week.

The 17-year-old from the city of Yibin in Southwest China's Sichuan Province had hoped his February 15 post might delay the new school term, scheduled for February 17, the West China City Daily reported on Thursday.

The young man, who was not named in the article, deleted the post after about 10 hours and posted another stating the rumor was untrue and pleading with Net users not to forward or download it.

The principal called police on February 18. They collared the youngster a day later.

He would not sue his student for the malicious rumor he had been caught in a police raid in Dongguan of Guangdong Province, the principal told the Chengdu-based newspaper. He was not named in the article either.

The creative teen had also inserted the principal's face  into a photo promoting  a pornography crackdown.

West China City Daily