(Yicai Global) June 13 -- The Beijing police have arrested the person who runs the Xinyuan app that artificially inflates the popularity of pop idols online.

The suspect, whose family name is Cai, was held on suspicion of sabotaging a computer information system after grossing CNY8 million (USD1.2 million) in six months, the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau said via its Weibo account yesterday.

The suspect once shared a post by Cai Xukun 100 million times as the singer promoted his new songs, the police added. That looked like almost a third of the 370 million users of Weibo, one of China's most popular social media platforms, passed on the post.

This massive sharing is possible if done by software, not by humans, according to Cao Yongtao, president of Beijing Aiman Data Technology.

First quarter data released on May 23 showed that Weibo had 465 million active monthly users and 203 million daily users. Revenue reached USD399 million, of which over 85 percent, or USD341 million, came from advertising and marketing.

But its Nasdaq-listed shares have been falling. The company's market capitalization fell to more than USD20 billion from USD30 billion early last year. The shares closed 4 percent lower yesterday at USD42.41 each, giving it a market cap of USD9.54 billion.