BEIJING: The first person to stand trial in a Chinese crackdown on “Internet rumors” confessed his guilt and made a lengthy statement of remorse Friday, even thanking his detention center, the court said.

Qin Zhihui is among hundreds of bloggers arrested in a government-backed campaign to assert greater control over social media which has seen influential critics of Beijing paraded on state television.

Prosecutors at Beijing’s Chaoyang district court said Qin had “impacted society and seriously harmed social order” by “creating and spreading rumors,” with his targets on Sina Weibo, the country’s version of Twitter, including celebrities and China’s former railways ministry.

The campaign against Internet rumors, which began last year, appears to be part of a concerted effort by China’s ruling Communist party to rein in criticism that undermines its grip on power.

Chinese microblogs have become key drivers of public opinion in recent years, with bloggers drawing attention to official corruption, pollution and other issues.

“I wish this could be a warning to everyone,” said Qin, according to quotes posted on the court’s Weibo account.

“I wish everyone would cherish the free space on the Internet, and be a pillar of society. I am an example that you should take a warning from,” added Qin, who was known as “Qinhuohuo” online.

Qin apologized to his victims, and also thanked the media, the police and the detention centre in Beijing that he has been held in since his arrest last August, adding that the “discipline has been good for me.”

He was shown on television with a shaved head, appearing contrite as he stood in court flanked by police.

Posts written by the 30-year-old and subsequently widely spread included one that Beijing had granted 200 million yuan ($32.2 million) in compensation to a foreigner who died in a train crash in eastern China’s Zhejiang province in 2011, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The rumor was reposted 12,000 times within two hours and “angered Chinese netizens”, Xinhua added.

Online reports said Qin had a number of Weibo accounts which were subsequently shut down by government censors. It is unclear how many followers he had.

The verdict in his case will be announced at a later date, the court said.