93 arrested for spreading doomsday rumors

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BEIJING, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Police in China arrested 93 people for allegedly spreading rumors about an apocalypse in December, officials said.

Of those arrested, 37 were members of the Christian "Almighty God" cult in northwest China's Qinghai province, Xinhua reported.

The "Almighty God" cult, established in 1990 in Henan province, requires its members to surrender their property to the group.

Members of the cult recently adopted the Mayan doomsday scenario in which the world will come to an end on Dec. 21, the security bureau of Xining said.

Others were detained in various parts of the country for handing out leaflets about the apocalypse and spreading rumors, local public security departments said.

Banners, discs, slogans, books and printing machines were seized by police.