Taiwan man fined over flopped apocalypse warning

A self-styled Taiwanese "prophet" was convicted Thursday of "spreading rumours" when he said a monster earthquake would destroy the island last month and fined Tw$40,000 ($1,380), a court said. Wang Chao-hung, better known as "Teacher Wang", stirred up a media frenzy after he "predicted" a giant quake and tsunami would hit Taiwan on May 11, urging people to move into makeshift shelters converted from cargo containers. Wang later claimed that his remarks were misinterpreted by journalists when the catastrophe failed to materialise, but he was convicted by a district court in Nantou, central Taiwan, of spreading socially disruptive rumours. He may face additional fraud charges as prosecutors are investigating claims that he might have cooperated with container businesses to set up a shelter village in Nantou.