Thirteen people were arrested here today in the Chinese capital on charges of spreading rumours and disrupting public order by inciting a protest over death of a young woman who was allegedly raped and murdered.
A statement from the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau said the woman surnamed Yuan, who fell to death from a clothing market building in Fengtai District on May 3, had committed a suicide.
The statement said a police investigation had ruled out possibilities that Yuan had been assaulted or murdered.
Yuan's death, however, spawned swirling rumours on the Internet stating that she had been raped and murdered by the building's security guards, which prompted a protest outside the building on May 8, the statement said.
Police said Yuan's boyfriend surnamed Peng allegedly spread the rumours online to call for Yuan's fellow townsmen from east Anhui Province to "demand an answer" from the market, as he was unsatisfied by the handling of Yuan's death.
Police have arrested Peng and 12 others, including one of Yuan's former classmates and 11 of her fellow townsmen, charging them with spreading rumours and inciting the rally.
All the suspects have confessed to their deeds and may face charges of disrupting public order and creating disturbances, according to the statement.
