(ECNS) -- A man seeking for gaining online popularity orchestrated a hoax explosion at a shopping mall in Xi'an City, capital of Shaanxi Province, ended up with a year-long prison sentence instead, according to a court ruling.
The man surnamed Wang uploaded five video clips on Nov 6, 2015, in which he said he first planned to blow up a shopping mall at midnight, while the following two clips showed him inside the mall saying "the crime tools are ready; a fire will be the last trigger", according to a China Youth Daily report on Monday.
Police were alerted to the man's video clips, and carried out a thorough investigation into suspicious items found inside the mall to protect public safety.
Finally, the man pretended to have received 100 billion yuan ($15 billion) from the owner of the mall.
His clips went viral after being viewed more than 20,000 times before he uploaded a final installment saying "it's over".
The People's Court of Yanta district in Xi'an sentenced him to one year in prison for purposely fabricating and spreading information about terrorist crimes, disturbing social order in a densely populated area.
Wang pleaded guilty in court, saying the idea of attracting followers popped into his mind while walking past the mall.
