Bomb hoax suspect caught in S China

SHENZHEN - A man who allegedly made false bomb threats that affected five flights was caught Thursday morning in the city of Dongguan in South China's Guangdong province, police from the city of Shenzhen said.

In a joint operation with Dongguan law enforcement, police from Shenzhen caught a 26-year-old man surnamed Wang in a rented room in Changping Township, the Shenzhen police said.

Wang, who is currently unemployed and comes from north China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, admitted to having made six phone calls claiming there were bombs on the planes, according to the police.

Police are still investigating the case.

Bomb threats were made against three Chinese airlines Wednesday morning, affecting five flights bound for Shenzhen, according to sources with the airlines.

Three of the flights were operated by Shenzhen Airlines. For security reasons, the airline ordered flight ZH9866 departing from Nanjing to return to the city after taking off, as well as directed flight ZH9243 from Xi'an to land in Guilin and flight ZH9889 from Beijing to postpone take-off. No abnormalities were found in the airplanes.

Juneyao Airlines ordered flight HO1111 bound for Shenzhen to return to Shanghai for a security. Police said later that no danger was posed to the aircraft.

China Eastern Airlines flight MU2325 from Lanzhou to Shenzhen was also safely cleared after the airline received a similar threat.

At least 10 false bomb threats were reported in China last year, creating significant losses for airlines and airports.

According to China's criminal law and civil aviation law, those who intentionally disturb flight operations by fabricating terrorist threats may receive punishments ranging from detention to a jail term of less than five years, or more than five years for those whose actions result in severe consequences.