A young man suspected of defrauding the public by soliciting unauthorized donations for quake relief has been detained, local police said on Wednesday.

The suspect, surnamed Zhan, 23, was arrested on Tuesday as he tried to withdraw cash from an ATM machine in this city in the southern province of Guangdong.

Initial investigations showed that he sent text messages soon after the massive quake hit Sichuan Province last Monday, asking people to deposit funds in a designated bank account, which turned out to be his own.

People from Zhejiang Province had transferred 5,740 yuan (820 U.S. dollars) to him. The man was also said to have obtained another 5,150 yuan through other false donation schemes.

Chinese police have advised people to donate cash and materials only to authorized departments and organizations and to avoid unofficial donation advertisements.

(Xinhua News Agency May 21, 2008)