Taiwan "prophet" charged over false forecast of apocalypse
Taiwan's prosecutors Thursday charged a self-proclaimed prophet with creating social disorder by falsely predicting a devastating natural disaster that caused widespread panic on the island.
Wang Chao-hung, who called himself 'Teacher Wang', would face up to 30,000 Taiwan dollars (1,000 US dollars) in fines or three days imprisonment if found guilty of spreading the false prediction.
The defendant warned on his blog that Taiwan would be hit by a magnitude-14 earthquake at 10:42 am (0242 GMT) Wednesday, which would trigger a 170-metre tsunami. He even built 200 shelters out of cargo containers in Puli Township in central Taiwan and urged people to buy the 'container homes' for shelter.
The warning caused public panic and an elderly man reportedly leapt from his fifth-story home in Taipei to avoid facing the apocalypse, police said....
