Hong Kong (CNN) -- China's major microblogging sites have suspended comments sections after being "punished for allowing rumors to spread" of a coup attempt in Beijing, state-run media reported Saturday. Sina's Weibo and Tencent's QQ -- Chinese versions of Twitter, which is banned in the mainland -- will stop use of comment function on the popular sites to "clean up rumors and other illegal information spread through microbloggings," according to Xinhua. The comments sections will be disabled until Tuesday. The microblog sites have been "criticized and punished accordingly" by officials in Beijing and Guangdong, state media reported. Authorities also closed 16 websites and detained six people, Xinhua reported, for allegedly spreading rumors of "military vehicles entering Beijing and something wrong going on in Beijing," a spokesperson for the State Internet Information Office told Xinhua.
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State media: Popular Chinese microblogging halt comments section until April 3
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More than 16 websites closed and six people detained for spreading coup rumors
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Comes after shock of the dismissal of China politburo member Bo Xilai
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Last week, China's internet filled with rumors of military vehicles entering Beijing'
The first time occurred in 2009 when dozens of @placeholder-like sites were simply closed by the government.