A man in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, has been sentenced to four years prison for concocting and deliberately spreading false information about severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

Huang Xingui was sentenced in the People's Court of Nedong County, Shannan Prefecture of Tibet.

The court heard that from May 15 to 21, when SARS was at its peak, Huang, aged 21, used his cell phone to dial a SARS hotline, and also called police in different regions pretending he was suffering from SARS and needed aid.

Huang made 24 phone calls to the SARS hotline in Shannan Prefecture to spread false information, and made hoax phone calls daily to public security departments to make false claims.

Harassed by Huang's false information, authorities on many occasions dispatched ambulances and medical workers to places mentioned by Huang but failed to find any SARS cases or suspects. They reported to local police after they concluded someone was deliberately creating panic.

Huang was soon identified by the public security department and was detained by the police bureau of Nedong County on May 21.

(Xinhua News Agency July 25, 2003)