GUANGZHOU - A man has been detained for slandering a group of well-known anti-Japanese heroes on the Internet, police in Guangzhou, China's third-largest city, said on Friday.

The man surnamed Zhang was ordered to stay in police detention for seven days. The police said Zhang vilified "the five warriors of Mount Langyashan," who jumped off a cliff after being encircled by Japanese invaders during World War II.

Zhang said on a popular social networking website that the five heroes had bullied local villagers, so the villagers not only told the Japanese army about the soldiers' whereabouts but also led the soldiers to a dead end.

The post went viral online and caused harmful effects, according to the police.

Guangzhou police traced the post to Zhang and captured him at his home on Thursday night.

Zhang confessed that he fabricated the information, according to the police.