'Bored' Chinese teenager makes bomb hoax call

YICHANG -- Police in Central China's Hubei province have detained a 17-year-old boy who allegedly made a bomb hoax call that disrupted airport traffic because he "felt bored."

The teenager from East China's Shandong province allegedly called Yichang Sanxia Airport on August 12, claiming his friend was in a taxi to the airport carrying knifes and explosives, police in Yichang City in Hubei said on Wednesday.

The call prompted an emergency police response to intercept vehicles entering the airport and strengthen security. However, nothing was found, police said.

The adolescent surnamed Liu was detained on Sunday and admitted that the call was intended as a joke as he "felt bored." Liu may face charges of fabricating and circulating fake terrorism information, according to the police.

China has seen a spate of bomb hoaxes disrupting air traffic in recent years, leading experts to blame a lack of legal awareness among the public.

In February, a man from East China's Anhui province forced a passenger plane to make an emergency landing after making a bomb threat in order to stop his girlfriend from leaving the city.

In December 2012, a man who made a bomb threat on a passenger flight to avoid a debt collector was sentenced to four years in prison in Central China's Hubei province.

The Ministry of Public Security in May vowed harsher punishments relating to such crimes following a false bomb threat that grounded five flights in Southwest China's municipality of Chongqing.

According to Chinese laws, those who intentionally disturb flight operations by fabricating terrorist threats can 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.