The 10 weirdest things that happened in China this year: Zhao Wei’s stares, counterfeiters lose money and a thief who really took the biscuit
The quirkiest news from China in 2015, as reported by mainland media
PUBLISHED : Monday, 28 December, 2015, 12:36pm
UPDATED : Monday, 28 December, 2015, 6:24pm
Gloria Chan
[email protected]
Actress Zhao Wei’s stare are dangerous, according to one man who filed legal action against her. Photo: SCMP Pictures
‘Damaged’ by actress’ TV glares
A man announced that he was suing the popular TV actress Zhao Wei because she stared at him from inside the TV screen. The civil action was filed at a court in Shanghai, the Legal Daily reported in June. The man claimed he had suffered “mental damage” from Zhao’s glares while watching her on television, the report said.
Wife elopes with carpool driver
A man from eastern China arranged for his wife to use a car sharing scheme to make it easier for her to get to work, but she later eloped with the driver, a newspaper reported. The man from Taizhou in Zhejiang province was worried about the long trips his wife had to take on public transport and thought car sharing was the answer to their problems, the Taizhou Evening News reported. She started getting lifts in May, but two months later she had upped sticks and moved to Guangdong province with her new boyfriend, the report said.
Loss-making counterfeiters
Three bungling counterfeiters invested 180,000 yuan (HK$215,000) to produce fake money, but only managed to make 160,000 yuan in bogus coins before they were caught, a news website reported. The men from Linyi in Shandong province decided to produce only 1 yuan coins, equivalent to about 15 US cents, rather than 100 yuan bills because they thought it would reduce the chance of them getting caught, Iqilu.com reported.
The counterfeited 1 yuan coins. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Fury over ca-noodling couple
A restaurant customer from southern China threw a bowl of noodles at another woman because she was angry about the couple engaging in some heavy petting next to her, according to a newspaper report. The woman, 24, was ordered to pay 600 yuan in compensation after police were called at Liuzhou in the Guangxi region, the Guangzhou Daily said. The woman also said she thought the girl was smiling at her and laughing to herself because she was single.
Obesity plan to keep girlfriend faithful
A Chinese Romeo encouraged his new girlfriend to eat up to five meals a day, which coincided with her weight nearly doubling in a year. The scheme was to put off other admirers, according to a newspaper report. The man from Guangzhou in southern China was constantly worried about losing his girlfriend to a potential rival once they started dating, the Qianjiang Evening News said. He later proposed marriage by presenting his girlfriend with a bunch of “engagement flowers” made of chocolate and she accepted, according to the newspaper.
The man’s girlfriend eventually married him, according to the report. Photo: SCMP Pictures
‘Ugly’ customer beaten by prostitute
A man from Zhoushan in Zhejiang province was considered so ugly that a prostitute first rejected him and then beat him up with her colleague after he offered to pay more for her services, the news website Chinanews.com reported in March. The three were spotted fighting in the street by the police and were detained.
Nursery school cookie thief jailed
A man from central China was jailed for a year for sneaking into a nursery school six times to steal children’s biscuits, a newspaper reported. The unemployed man from Wuhan stole 15 packs of biscuits, two blankets, a bed cover, a bottle of hand cream and 28 cartons of milk but he was caught red-handed, the Global Times reported in July.
Paralysed woman’s rapid elopement
A woman paralysed with polio eloped from her husband after he went out briefly to buy vegetables, a newspaper reported. The woman, aged 40, from Hefei in Anhui province left in March with a man she had met on the internet, according to the Anhui Shangbao. She later phoned her husband after she had fled by car to say she wanted a divorce, the report said.
Lunar New Year lift bungle
A man going home for the Lunar New Year holiday left his brother shivering by the side of the road after driving off without realising he was not in the car. The brothers were taking turns to drive from Ningbo in Zhejiang province to Hebei province, the newspaper the Modern Jinbao reported. The younger man got out to go to the toilet, but his absent-minded sibling drove off and only realised his error after driving 20km, the report said.
Father and son caught soliciting prostitutes
A father and son from Fuzhou in eastern China were caught together by the police paying for prostitutes, according to a newspaper report. The father from Fujian province said it was to help his son get over the break-up of a relationship, the Huaxi Metropolis Daily reported in June.
