The police action of summoning Li Wenliang, a doctor from Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province, who sounded an early alarm on the novel coronavirus, for "spreading fake information on the internet", was not appropriate, a special investigation concluded on Thursday.

The law enforcement procedure also was not up to standard, according to a statement from a special team dispatched by the National Supervisory Commission to Wuhan to probe issues regarding Li.

The investigation team has advised discipline authorities in Wuhan to supervise the rectifications and urged the police to revoke the reprimand letter and hold relevant people accountable, the statement said.

The Public Security Bureau of Wuhan announced on Thursday night that it decided to revoke the reprimand letter to Li, and sincerely apologize to his family.

The bureau said it would learn from the lesson and improve its work in the future.