By Xie Chuanjiao (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-10-10 07:48

A 50-year-old woman from Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong Province, has learned the hard way that the things one says in cyberspace can lead to concrete consequences.

The woman, surnamed Chen, spent 10 days in police custody for pretending to be a 15-year-old girl who had been repeatedly raped by her stepfather after her parents divorced.

"She claimed that she was pregnant and wanted to go out for help, but her stepfather had locked her up at home," the Beijing News reported Tuesday.

The tale of woe attracted lots of attention, and eventually concerned parties contacted the police.

In late September, police in the city's Tianqiao District tracked down the woman's residence and were astonished to discover that the girl was actually Chen.

"I felt so lonely after I divorced," Chen told police. "My daughter never cares for me because she is too busy looking for a job."

Chen adopted her online persona in July, logging on every night at 10 pm under the name "little raindrop".

She said she decided to make up the stepfather story to attract more chat partners.

"I did not know it was against the law to tell such lies, and I feel regretful," she said.

Chen's tales are said to have raised a lot of concern and affected the work of local police. Qiu Baochang, a legal consultant of the China Consumers' Association, said: "We have entered the era of cyber cheating and other issues, such as online betting, drug trafficking and child porn. We also see children being tricked by grown-ups talking like kids."

He said it is important that people are able to get the best out of the many new technologies available.

He said information industry departments need to work harder at regulating online activities and police need to track and better monitor those using the Internet for improper purposes.

"The Internet is referred to as cyberspace, but what happens there can affect the real world. We have to use it in a civilized and legal manner. Violators will have to face civil or criminal punishments," Qiu said.