Baidu CEO Doused With Water, Suspect Detained

The bottle of water doused on China’s search engine giant Baidu CEO‘s head grabbed the headlines at Baidu‘s annual AI conference. The suspect has been punished with administrative detention by police on July 4, one day after the incident.

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“Aoyuan branch of Chaoyang police station heard from Baidu staff that a man disrupted the order of Baidu‘s event. The police started an investigation and have punished the suspect with five days in administrative detention for his troublesome behavior,” announced Chaoyang police.

The reason behind his behavior is still unknown.

Many citizens believe that this is part of Baidu‘s promotion plan, which was later denied. “For what happened at the AI create conference, we are angry and strongly condemn what the perpetrator did,” Baidu announced today.

Others are commending the suspect for doing the right thing, as Baidu has long been questioned about its morality.

Baidu sell advertisement spots on their search engine for profit to a degree that it has a negative effect on its users. The company has been approached recently by the Education Department and the police for their inappropriate advertisements about how to choose colleges. Many search results are related to apps, webpages or organizations providing high price consulting services.

“Diploma mills and cheaters may take advantage as search engines make money from advertising. Baidu and 360 shouldn’t have been given that opportunity, because it may mislead students when choosing colleges,” said Zhou Jiasheng on Weibo.