China
        

Society

BJ police dispel rumor of subway poisoning

Updated: 2011-05-26 17:15

By Jia Xu (chinadaily.com.cn)

Twitter Facebook Myspace Yahoo! Linkedin Mixx

Police in Beijing have dismissed rumors of a poisoned gas attack on the subway system, urging commuters to stay calm after false reports circulated on the Internet, Beijing News reported on Thursday.

Reports that men are roaming subway lines 4 and 10 targeting young women with poisonous gas released from cell phones have spread widely on social networking sites sparking panic.

Hai Anjin, an Weibo (twitter-like microblog) user who travels on line 10 wrote online that she ran into the subway at Jinsong station where a "weird" man set beside her, holding up his cell phone, and soon afterwards, she "felt dizzy and numb" after inhaling some "odorless air".

A college girl named Wang Jing (alias) penned a similar story after claiming she encountered the same scenario on May 15, which was posted on Renren.com, China's Facebook, and reposted thousands of times.

Police say the panic is unnecessary. "Being drugged by gas needs a large dose, and the speculation of cell phones sending gas makes no sense," a policeman said adding there're lots of monitors in subway stations and supervision is tight and strict.

Health experts also claim gas poisoning can only happen with a heavy dose and long-time inhalation.

"Even if there were people who inhaled poisonous gas, there's no chance they would be able to walk consciously for one or two minutes afterwards." said Wang Yuan, vice director of anesthesiology department of Chaoyang Hospital in Beijing.

E-paper

Thawing out

After a deep freeze in sales during the recession, China’s air conditioner makers are bouncing back

Preview of the coming issue
Cool Iron lady
Of good and evil

European Edition

Specials

Memory lanes

Shanghai’s historic ALLEYS not just unique architecture but a way of life

Great expectations

Hong Kong-born singer songwriter rises to the top of the UK pops.

A diplomat of character

Belgian envoy draws on personal fascination to help build China ties.

Her story is history
Sino-US Dialogue
Drunk driving