Police have caught five people who incited public panic by making up rumors of radioactive leak last month at a foods sterilization plant in Qi County of Kaifeng, in Central China's Henan Province, Dahe.cn reported Monday.

They five had spread false information on the internet about an alleged radioactive leak at the Limin Irradiation Factory in Qi County, increasing concern about radiation poisoning among local residents and badly affecting social stability.

The government had kept silent for a month after the accident, causing local residents to panic because they couldn't get any information on the leak and creating an opportunity for the rumors to spread.

The rumors had prompted some residents to move out of their houses in fear of the radiation, until local officials confirmed that no radioactive leak had occurred. They explained that on June 7, the radiation source in the plant was accidentally blocked and cannot be replaced to its storage place.

However, they reassured that no radiation pollution will occur and the problem is expected to be resolved by the end of August.

Residents have since moved back to their homes.
 
One of the rumor mongers surnamed Zhang admitted that he posted the false information about the leakage of radiation on a popular Chinese online forum called Tianya.
 
Local police detained him on July 18 according to Chinese laws, and the other four rumor mongers were penalized as well.