中国Power !!!

[Spetsnaz]

Around the nation: Chinese teen saves lives of two workers trapped in sewer

Also, man kidnaps woman stranger to bring home for the Lunar New Year and granny’s itchy fingers caught on camera

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 12 February, 2015, 8:33pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 12 February, 2015, 8:36pm

The 18-year-old college student visits the two sanitary workers whose lives he saved by pulling them out of a sewer and giving them CPR. Photo: Rednet.cn

BEIJING

Subway suicide

The Beijing subway service was suspended for 50 minutes during the morning rush hour on Wednesday after a man was hit by an oncoming train, The Beijing News reports. The man, in his 50s, was declared dead after he was pulled out from underneath the train. Surveillance footage showed that the man had jumped off the platform on his own accord, a subway employee said.

Polluting plants to shut

The Beijing municipal government will shut another 300 factories this year to further cut pollution in the city, Xinhua reports. The factories are from 12 polluting industries, including metal casting and forging, and furniture manufacturing. President Xi Jinping had earlier this week urged the city to transfer more of its "non-capital" functions to neighbouring Hebei and Tianjin .

CHONGQING

Shoplifting granny

A woman in her 50s was caught stealing snacks from a grocery store while shopping with her grandson, the Chongqing Chen Bao reports. Surveillance footage showed the woman taking the last two packs of beef jerky from a shelf and putting them into her bag before telling the store assistant that the product was out of stock. The store owner later discovered that the woman frequently stole goods - including cooking oil, carrots and chocolate - from her shop.

Death-defying plunge

A truck driver miraculously survived after his vehicle plunged 30 metres off a flyover on the city's outskirts on Wednesday, the Chongqing Evening News reports. The truck had crashed into guard rails along the 30-metre-high flyover before falling to the ground. A passenger is receiving treatment for severe head injuries. The accident apparently occurred because the driver was unfamiliar with the road.

HUBEI

Poisoned by leftovers

An 80-year-old Xiangyang woman died after eating leftover food, the Chutian Metropolis Daily reports. The woman started vomiting and later lost consciousness after she and her 42-year-old daughter ate a three-day-old radish dish. The daughter, who also felt sick after the meal, survived. Doctors said they were likely poisoned by nitrates that had formed in the leftover food.

Missing boy found dead

One of two seven-year-old boys, reported missing almost a week ago, has been found dead while the other is being treated in a hospital, the Xiangyang Evening News reports. Their parents had reported them missing on February 5, and they were eventually found trapped in a narrow space between two houses near their homes.

HUNAN

Wrong medication

A Zhuzhou woman fell into a coma and is in critical condition after taking anti-depressants she had bought from Thailand, the Changsha Evening Newspaper reports. The woman had a few drinks before taking the drugs and went to bed on Tuesday and has not woken since. The woman had apparently bought the drugs on a recent trip to Thailand, believing they were weight-loss pills. Doctors said the pills were in fact anti-depressants and that the alcohol might have amplified their effect.

Teen saves two

An 18-year-old college student has saved the lives of two sanitary workers trapped in a sewer, the Changsha Evening Newspaper reports. With help from others, the student pulled out the two workers after he found them stuck in the sewer. He also performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the pair, who had inhaled too much methane. Both workers are now in stable condition.

JIANGSU

Debtor fakes death

Xuzhou police have arrested a man suspected of killing a homeless man and being involved in insurance fraud, the Procuratorial Daily reports. Niu Guangjun, who owed debts totalling 600,000 yuan (HK$756,000), bought 2 million yuan of life insurance last year. When pressured for payment in May, he allegedly killed a homeless man, put the body in his car and set the vehicle on fire to fake his death. He had hoped his family would receive his insurance payout.

Alcohol coma

A 21-year-old Yangzhou woman is in critical condition after taking too much alcohol, the Modern Express reports. The woman had passed out after drinking more than 750 grams of baijiu, or Chinese liquor, at her company's annual lunch. Her colleagues took her to hospital after she failed to regain consciousness. Doctors said she had severe alcohol poisoning, which is potentially fatal.

LIAONING

How to bring a girl home

Dalian police have arrested a 32-year-old man for kidnapping a woman whom he wanted to take home for the Lunar New Year, the New Culture Post reports. The man said he did not know the 24-year-old woman but had kidnapped her because his parents were pressuring him to get married and his relationships had not worked out.

Killed for cash

Jilin police have arrested a man suspected of killing three of his relatives late last month, the New Culture Post reports. The man allegedly killed his 74-year-old sister, niece and his sister's granddaughter with an axe and a knife. Neighbours said the man often visited and demanded money from his sister, who repeatedly rejected him. Two policemen were injured while apprehending the suspect.

SHAANXI

Bank transfer 'error'

A Xian woman found that she received only 110,000 yuan after asking a bank teller to transfer 120,000 yuan into her account, Huashang Daily reports. The bank apologised, saying that the teller had mistakenly transferred the remaining 10,000 yuan into her own bank account. The teller had mixed up her own bank card with the customer's card - which were both on the table - when she was making the transfer, the bank said.

Rage over rejection

Yulin police on Wednesday arrested a man for killing his ex-wife after she refused to remarry him, Huashang Daily reports. The couple had divorced in 2011, two years after their marriage, after the man beat up the woman. He has since repeatedly harassed her, demanding that she remarry him, and she had to move from time to time to avoid him. The man stabbed the woman to death on Sunday before turning himself in.

ZHEJIANG

Cruel captor

A 52-year-old man, surnamed Hu, and two others kept a businessman captive for three months before drowning him in a cage in a reservoir in 2012, a Hangzhou court heard on Wednesday, the Qianjiang Evening News reports. Hu allegedly extorted 6.2 million yuan from the victim's family in the three months the man was held captive. He escaped to Thailand but was extradited back to China in 2013.

Who's your daddy?

A drug abuser in Quzhou mistook a policeman for her father when she was questioned while high, the Qianjiang Evening News reports. The woman began hallucinating while being interrogated by the police officer, and called him "dad" while asking him where she was. The policeman played along and pretended to be her father in order to get her to talk.

 

[Pfizer]

China produces about a third of plastic waste polluting the world's oceans, says report

PUBLISHED : Friday, 13 February, 2015, 11:41am
UPDATED : Friday, 13 February, 2015, 11:42am

Agencies

Volunteers picking rubbish off the beach at Big Wave Bay in Hong Kong in 2012. The report says developing countries produce the most plastic waste in the ocean because their methods of managing rubbish are inefficient. Photo: EPA

China is responsible for nearly a third of the plastic polluting the world’s oceans, according to a new report.

The nation produces an average of about 2.4 million tonnes of plastic waste in the seas each year, just under 30 per cent of the global total, the study said

The other worst polluters are Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Egypt, Malaysia, Nigeria and Bangladesh, according to the report.

The study published by the journal Science estimates that China’s heavily coastal population contributes 1.3 million to 3.5 million metric tonnes of plastic to the world’s oceans each year, largely due to mismanaged waste.

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara’s National Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis along with the Washington-based Ocean Conservancy found that 20 countries account for more than 83 per cent of the waste.

The United States was the only rich industrialised nation in the top 20 and it was ranked at No. 20.

About eight million tonnes of plastic waste enters the oceans each year from the world’s 192 coastal countries based on 2010 data.

The findings mark the most detailed assessment yet of the scale of waste that is circulating in the oceans, imperiling wildlife and blighting once-pristine sites.

As much as 155 million tonnes may build up in the oceans by 2025 if no changes are made, the researchers found.

“We’re being overwhelmed by our waste,” said Jenna Jambeck, lead author of the paper and an assistant professor of environmental engineering at the University of Georgia.

Strategies to reduce waste and better manage what is thrown away might help, as would better local and global co-ordination, Jambeck said.

The researchers estimate more than nine million tonnes will end up in the oceans this year.

That means plastics weighing 191 times as much as the Titanic are dumped in the oceans every year as nations led by countries in Asia struggle to manage waste, the first study to quantify the problem showed.

“The numbers are staggering, but as the group points out, the problem is not insurmountable,” said Frank Davis, a professor of environmental science at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg, LA Times

 

[DSGunner]

It's like Animal Farm.

 

[Spetsnaz]

Around the nation: Son runs up hug tab at hotel spa to take revenge on Dad

Also: Teenage son, abducted as toddler, rejects real parents after reunion; Lottery winner fails suicide bid after squandering his fortune

PUBLISHED : Friday, 13 February, 2015, 9:18pm
UPDATED : Friday, 13 February, 2015, 9:18pm

Staff at a Kunming hotel spa show the tab for a 14-year-old boy's four day spending binge to get even with his "negligent" dad. Photo: SCMP Pictures

YUNNAN

It's on Dad

A 14-year-old boy seeking revenge on his father ran up a 14,000-yuan (HK$17,700) bill at a hotel spa in Kunming over four days, the Spring City Evening News reports. Hotel records showed more than 130 orders from the boy including 37 massages, 23 packets of cigarettes and 31 bottles of alcohol. The boy phoned his divorced parents when he was unable to pay his bill. He "felt neglected" by his parents who did not even try to stop him smoking. Asked why they had let an underage boy spend so much, staff said he looked mature for his age.

A neighbourly thank you

An entrepreneur from Luquan county is celebrating his success this Lunar New Year by building a 200-square-metre villa for each of the 40 households in his home village, Chinanews.com reports. Guang Xiangzu, 66, spent 1.2 million yuan to build the homes in the remote mountain village. He spent another million yuan on the local primary school.

GUANGDONG

Long wait for justice

A local court in Dongguan has compensated a man for being wrongfully detained for 662 days, the Southern Metropolis News reports. The man was detained in February, 2012 and jailed for five years for fraud that August. The charges were dropped on appeal in December, 2013. His first demand for compensation was rejected, but an intermediate court in Dongguan finally overruled that decision.

Son rejects parents

A teenager wants to cut ties with his biological parents 15 years after he was adopted by a wealthy family in Guangzhou, the Southern Metropolis News reports. The youth, 17, was abducted by traffickers at age two and sold to his adopted family for 13,000 yuan. His biological parents recently found him with police help, but the son said he did not want to keep meeting them and wanted to move on with his life.

HENAN

Bee all and end all

Firefighters in the province received nearly 60,000 calls for help last year, nearly half of them requests to remove beehives, the Dahe Daily reports. A fire department director said people could remove small hives with pesticides, and should not tie up valuable manpower that was needed for more urgent cases.

Zhengzhou official jailed

A former deputy director of the Zhengzhou pubic security bureau has been jailed for six years for taking 710,000 yuan in bribes, the Dahe Daily reports. The official accepted the money between 2012 and last year in return for promotions and job opportunities for those who bribed him. The court handed him a lenient sentence after he returned the money.

HUBEI

Bus trip nightmare

A migrant worker from Henan was stranded at a roadside service area in Wuhan as he travelled home by bus for the Lunar New Year, the Changjiang Daily reports. The bus left Fujian on Saturday and made a comfort stop at dawn. While the man was in the restroom, the bus left with his luggage. Police contacted the driver and took the man to Wuhan train station. He arrived home on Sunday, with his luggage.

Woman driver sought

Wuhan police are looking for a woman after a hit-and-run incident left a sanitation worker critically injured on Tuesday, the Wuhan Evening News reports. Surveillance video showed the woman driver left her car to check on the victim at about 6.30am. As passers-by gathered and called police, she returned to the car and fled. Police said the driver stopped later to wipe blood stains from the front of the vehicle.

HUNAN

Fortune ends in misery

A Changsha man attempted to kill himself on a railway track after he wasted 5 million yuan he won in a lottery two years ago, Rednet.cn reports. The 41-year-old was rescued unhurt by railway staff and police on Wednesday. Neighbours said he had splurged the money on two properties, two cars and drugs. His wife had walked out after a business venture failed, leaving a large debt. He had gone to his brother's home for Lunar New Year, the report said.

Swindler arrested

A fraudster in Changsha swindled more than 500,000 yuan from five single women over two years, the Xiaoxiang Morning News reports. The man, 50, met the women online and asked them out for dates, telling him he owned a nationwide medicinal wholesale business. Later he told his victims he would like to buy a flat and marry them, but his company's funds were tied up. After getting their money, he disappeared. He is under arrest.

JIANGSU

Stepmother killer to die

A man in Nanjing was sentenced to death on Thursday for the fatal stabbing of his stepmother, the Modern Express reports. The man, in his 30s, came to the city in search of work last year, but he spent all his money on lottery tickets. He had asked his father, who lived with the stepmother, for 10,000 yuan, which he squandered. Last June, he quarrelled with the woman when he asked his father for another 50,000 yuan at a metro station. He stabbed her in the chest, killing her.

Failed carjacking

A man, 26, in Nanjing has been arrested for stealing an Audi convertible during a test drive, the Modern Express reports. The man took the car out accompanied by the dealer's wife. After a while he pulled over and threatened her with a knife. He took 4,000 yuan from her purse and ordered her out of the car. The wife called police, who set up a roadblock. Other drivers blocked him with their own cars.

SHANGHAI

Biodiesel from gutter oil

The city plans to recycle gutter oil into biodiesel for its buses, the China News Service reports. The move follows a local environmental protection bureau report that found motor vehicles and ships were the main source of the city's air pollution. The city started a pilot scheme in 2013 to run buses on converted waste kitchen oil.

Classroom thief

A young man disguised as a university student stole seven mobile phones, two iPads and a laptop from several English training institutes over five days, Thepaper.cn reports. The man sat at computer desks and stole the electronics from students in adjacent seats when they left their desks, the report says.

ZHEJIANG

Woman robbed, raped

A labour contractor robbed and raped a sex worker in Hangzhou , before helping her get home for the Lunar New Year, Cnnb.com.cn reports. The man threatened the woman with a knife and took 3,000 yuan and two phones from her on Sunday. He also forced her to withdraw 10,000 yuan from her bank account, then brought her to a hotel and raped her. The next morning, he drove her to the airport for her trip home and returned 1,000 yuan for travelling expenses. He was arrested on Tuesday.

Village chief gunned down

A village chief was shot dead in Pingyang county, Wenzhou , on Thursday night, 66wz.com reports. The victim, 46, was shot in the back of the head while walking along a neighbourhood street. A witness saw him fall to the ground but did not clearly see the gunman's face. Relatives think the crime was related to a construction project and disputes with families facing eviction, the report said.

 

[Spetsnaz]

Around the nation: Restaurant owner treats 400 street cleaners to Lunar New Year Banquet

Also: The son from hell, and the hotel guests from hell

PUBLISHED : Sunday, 15 February, 2015, 9:38pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 15 February, 2015, 9:38pm

The owner of a Sichuan-style hotpot restuarant in Huangzhou, Hubei, invited 400 of the city's cleaners to dinner. Photo: SCMP Pictures

HUBEI

Hotpot hits the spot

A hotpot restaurant in Huangzhou, near Wuhan , treated 400 cleaning workers in the city to a Lunar New Year feast, China News Service reports. The manager of the Sichuan style restaurant said he hoped to raise awareness and greater respect for underprivileged workers. Restaurant staff sat with the cleaners to drink and enjoy dishes of beef and mutton.

Driver admits hit-and-run

A man has come forward to police in Yichang claiming responsibility for the death of a woman in a hit-and-run incident, chinanews.com reports. The woman, in her 70s, was knocked down on a pedestrian crossing. She died later in hospital.

BEIJING

The son from hell

A court in Fangshan district banned a man from visiting his mother or harassing her and his stepfather after the couple filed a lawsuit saying that they could no longer tolerate him, The Beijing News reports. The couple said the son often visited their home, scolded them or smashed things if his requests for money were refused. The woman said her son was unhappy that she divorced his father. She signed an agreement with her son when he was 16 to pay a one-time, lump sum to cover his living expenses with the proviso that they would not contact each other. But the son ignored that part of the agreement and the woman said she and her new husband were depressed by the son's constant threats and intimidation.

It's never too late

A matchmaking activity was held in Mentougou district for 210 older single people on Saturday, based on a survey that showed being single affected the mental health of the elderly, The Beijing Times reports. Meanwhile, more than 3,400 couples tied the knot on Valentine's Day, with many of them waiting for several hours at the civil affairs authority to register their marriage.

GUANGDONG

Prostitute killer executed

A man was executed in Zhuhai last week for killing a prostitute to vent his hatred for his wife, who was also said to be a prostitute, the New Express reports. Late in 2012, the man hired the victim. He later stabbed her to death and stole hundreds of yuan and a mobile phone. The man told police that he was consumed with hatred for his wife who left him soon after their daughter was born and had also been working as a prostitute. Easier to phone home

Residents of Guangzhou and Qingyuan will not be charged roaming fees for mobile phone calls in either city, while banks in the two cities won't charge cross-region fees for customers within the region, the Nanfang Daily reports, citing Qingyuan party boss Ge Changwei. Guangzhou and relatively-underdeveloped Qingyuan, which lies about 60km north of the provincial capital, signed a cooperation agreement three years ago.

FUJIAN

Failed suicide bid

A woman in Zhangzhou used social media on her smartphone to upload photos of her slashing her own wrist in an attempted suicide on Valentine's Day, Fjsen.com reports. She was saved by police and is being treated in hospital. Police said she had consumed a lot of alcohol beforehand.

Boy's sister protest

An eight-year-old boy in Fuzhou poured glue in his eyes in his most recent abnormal act since his younger sister was born last year, the Straits City News reports. The mother said her son's eyes were fine after she cleaned them at home before taking him to a hospital clinic. A local child psychologist said many families faced similar problems, with first-born children not feeling comfortable when a second child arrived.

HEILONGJIANG

Wages won for migrants

Courts in the province recovered more than 2.4 million yuan (HK$3 million) in wages owed to 212 migrant workers last month, the Heilongjiang Daily reports. The courts punished business owners who defaulted on wages, including banning them from leaving the mainland, buying luxury goods, and putting them on credit blacklists.

Family tragedy

The bodies of a man and his octogenarian parents were found in their home at least 10 days after they died, the Legal Evening News reports. Police said the tragedy was not suspicious, as the television was still on. The son, who was in his 50s, died of heart disease. Relatives said his parents could not look after themselves, and had starved.

SICHUAN

New airport named

The new second airport for Chendgu will be named Tianfu International Airport, the West China City Daily reports, citing the city's municipal information office. Chengdu will become the third mainland city after Shanghai and Beijing to have two international airports. The new airport will be 50km from the city centre and will cost nearly 70 billion yuan.

Elderly woman rescued

An 88-year-old woman was rescued 50 minutes after she jumped into the Jinjiang River in Chengdu on Friday, the West China City Daily reports. She said she suffered chronic pain and did not want to be a burden to her children. She is recovering in hospital.

YUNNAN

Time runs out for killer

A 21-year-old man was executed on Friday in Qujing for the murders of seven people in a nine-day killing spree across three provinces, the Yunnan Information News reports. An accomplice was jailed for life because he was only 14 when the crimes were committed three years ago. Seeking quick money, the duo robbed and killed villagers in Wugang in Hunan , Dongguan in Guangdong and Fuyuan county in Yunnan . They took passenger buses from one place to another. It is not clear how they killed the victims, except a two-year-old girl who they suffocated with a quilt.

Insurance pays

Insurance premium revenues across the province reached 37.6 billion yuan last year, up 17 per cent on the year earlier, the Yunnan Information Daily reports. Yunnan's premiums rose by more than 15 per cent for a second year. The provincial insurance authority said this would encourage firms to promote earthquake insurance business this year, especially for public enterprises, schools, hospitals and power stations.

ZHEJIANG

Unwelcome guests

A couple in Xianju county have been jailed - one for seven years and nine months, the other for two years and 10 months - for swindling a hotel owner out of 230,000 yuan by touting their good relationship with railway officials, Chinanews.com reports. For most of last year, they lived in the hotel and even hired a chauffer to pretend to be rich. When the owner said he was interested in non-hotel investments, the couple offered to help him win rail project contracts. The hotel owner told police that the couple suddenly disappeared after he handed them the money.

Landlord drug pusher

Jiangshan police have detained four men for drug possession, Chinanews.com reports. Two of the men rented a house for legitimate business purposes but soon began to sniff methamphetamine offered to them by the house owner. When police inspected the house last week, the two renters were caught for possession with two other friends. Police issued an arrest warrant for the owner, who escaped.

 

[Spetsnaz]

Around the nation: Man runs 350km home for Lunar New Year

Also: Man's leg nearly rots after 24-hour mahjong binge; Shanghai zoo staff in tense stand-off with elderly dancers in reptile enclosure

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 17 February, 2015, 8:18pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 17 February, 2015, 8:18pm

Cai Jianping, pictured at this year's Dapeng marathon in Shenzhen, took five days to run nearly 350km to his hometown, Shantou, for the Lunar New Year holiday. Photo: SCMP Pictures

GUANGDONG

The long run home

A man has run 350km from Shenzhen to his hometown, Shantou , to celebrate the Chinese New Year with his family, the Southern Metropolis News reports. Cai Jianping, a 23-year-old marathon fan, completed the journey in five days. He said the idea came to his mind about a month ago, so he decided to give himself a challenge. During the run he set out at 6am each day and would stay on the road until dusk, spending the night in hotels. Cai said one of the highlights of the trip was the encouragement he received from strangers along the way.

Woman blackmailer

Shenzhen police have arrested a woman who blackmailed more than 10 men by threatening to tell police they had raped her, the Southern Metropolis News reports. The woman went on dates with the men and had slept with them, then accused them of rape in an attempt to obtain compensation. But a police investigation found the woman had called the police 257 times in two years, all related to sexual assaults.

BEIJING

Green light for micro parks

The capital is to get 60 more "pocket" parks by October, the Beijing Daily reports. The mini-parks, none larger than 10,000 square metres, will be built in or near residential areas. The city started a pilot scheme to build smaller parks last year, and decided to expand the project to a total area of 40 hectares.

Driver's big gamble

A driver for the general manager of a fund management company has been jailed for five years and 10 months after he stole 230,000 yuan (HK$290,000)from his boss and lost it all gambling in Macau, the Beijing Times reports. The manager handed his bank card and a USB key to the driver to give to the financial department. Instead, the driver kept the card and withdrew the money.

HENAN

Hogs wiped out in blaze

About 150 hogs died in a farm blaze in Nanzhao county, Nanyang , on Sunday, causing losses of more than 200,000 yuan, the Dahe Daily reports. Twenty barns, covering 1,000 square metres, were engulfed in flames that killed all the livestock before firefighters arrived. The fire department was investigating the cause of the fire, while the county government said it would provide financial assistance to the farmer.

Oldest couple again

A man and his wife in Yuzhou have been named the nation's oldest couple for the third year running, Eastday.com reports. The husband, 109, and 108-year-old wife have been married for 90 years - longer than most people live. They have more than 70 descendents. Doctors said they were both in good health.

HUBEI

Good hand nearly cost leg

A man in Wuhan nearly lost his leg after playing mahjong non-stop for 24 hours, the Wuhan Evening News reports. He felt severe pain in his left leg when he stood up from the mahjong table. By the time he arrived at hospital, his leg was completely swollen and had turned blue. Doctor found that veins in his left leg was blocked by thrombi from sitting still for a long time, and was in danger of necrosis. Only prompt treatment saved his leg.

Absent-minded mum

A woman left her 10-year-old son at a highway toll station to chase for her luggage that she had left on a bus, the Wuhan Evening News reports. She took another bus and caught up with her luggage at a service area, only to realise she had forgotten at which toll station she had left her son. She called police for help and finally found the boy in bushes near the station.

HUNAN

Self service flight

A woman brought a hot meal in a rice cooker on board a flight to Changsha to visit her daughter for the Lunar New Year, Voc.com.cn reports. The woman, travelling with her granddaughter, worried that the food at restaurants or on the plane was not hygienic and could make her granddaughter sick. She bought a small rice cooker for the trip and prepared rice and eggs before the flight.

Slap on wrist for official

The former deputy head of Hengdong county, where 92 children have been found with excessive amounts of lead in their blood, has been handed a demerit - or an administrative black mark - for failing to keep polluting factories in check during his term, The Beijing News reports. A local official said earlier that "chewing pencils could also lead to elevated blood lead levels," which was false, as pencils are made with graphite, not the heaver toxic metal.

JIANGSU

Five litres of his finest

A passenger in Nanjing was stopped from boarding a train carrying five litres of urine, People.com.cn reports. The man, in his 40s, carried the samples in water bottles. He said he was taking it to a hospital in Shanghai after his doctor had asked him to bring a specimen.

What does this button do?

A 13-year-old boy brought a metro train to a halt in Wuxi after he pressed the emergency stop button out of curiosity, the Wuxi Daily reports. The train stopped for a minute to check for problems before being cleared by the control centre to move on. The boy said he had also pressed emergency buttons in lifts and buses.

SHANGHAI

Bonus dispute turns ugly

A worker who accused his supervisor of cutting his annual bonus due to his "disagreeable" looks received such strong support on social media that he got his bonus back plus a transfer to another department, Eastday.com reports. The supervisor had told colleague that she "felt like throwing up whenever I see him," the report said. The worker said his annual bonus had been over 100,000 yuan in the past five years, but was cut to 30,000 yuan this year after the supervisor took over.

More wildlife for zoo

The Shanghai Zoo had to call in police on Monday to quell a dispute with a group of elderly who refused to lower the music while dancing next to a reptile and amphibian enclosures early in the morning, the Shanghai Daily reports. Zoo staff said the loud music disturbed the animals and insisted the dancers stay 10 metres from the cages. Some dancers smashed sign boards as the dispute heated up. "The animals enjoy the music and watch us dance," a woman dancer said. The resident python was probably unperturbed, as snakes do not have ears.

ZHEJIANG

Shop, in the name of love

A cashier at a supermarket in Wenzhou embezzled 2.4 million yuan from her company to please her young lover, the Today Morning Express reports. The 28-year-old married woman met her boy in 2010 - when he was not yet 18. He tried to end the affair two years later, but she begged him to stay. She rented a flat for him, bought a car, and paid for his travelling expenses - while earning 4,000 yuan a month. She changed bills paid by cash to bank card payments and kept the cash, until her boss found out and reported her.

Toddler's lock-in

Firefighters in Lanxi rescued a three-year-old boy who locked himself in at home, Cztv.com reports. He locked the front door inside after his grandmother took out the rubbish. Firefighters climbed a ladder to the third-floor flat and entered through a window.

 

[Spetsnaz]

Li Peng's daughter hid US$2.5m in Swiss account: report

Staff Reporter
2015-02-15

Li Xiaolin attends a session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing on March 3, 2014. (Photo/CNS)

Li Xiaolin, the daughter of former Chinese premier Li Peng, hid nearly US$2.5 million in a secret Swiss account with HSBC, according to a report from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), an active global network of 185 reporters in more than 65 countries.

The ICIJ investigation revealed that Li and her husband Liu Zhiyuan have been HSBC clients since 2001 and are "beneficial owners of one client account that was connected to five bank accounts that together held as much as $2.48 million in 2006/2007."

ICIJ said the funds were held all held under the name of Metralco Overseas SA, a Panama-registered company that was dissolved in 2012.

Li did not respond to requests for comment on the ICIJ leak, which was part of a larger investigation into the murky practices of HSBC's Swiss private banking arm in helping wealthy and well-connected clients — from celebrities and politicians to arms dealers, blood diamond traffickers and dictators — dodge taxes and hide illicit funds from government authorities.

The revelation adds Li to the growing list of powerful Chinese executives and officials accused of hiding their wealth overseas to avoid investigations back home. The 54-year-old CEO of China Power International Development has long insisted that her success in business has had nothing to do with connections stemming from her famous father, who was premier of China between 1987 and 1998 and is best known outside the country as the instigator of the bloody crackdown on student protesters in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Various media outlets have also pointed out that Li, previously known for her taste in expensive clothes and luxury goods, has apparently shifted to a more modest lifestyle since President Xi Jinping launched a sweeping anti-graft campaign at the start of 2013 promising to bring down all corrupt officials whether lowly "flies" or high-flying "tigers."

This is not the first time Li's name has been linked to alleged corruption. In October 2013, it was reported that Li had brokered secret deals to help Zurich Insurance gain a major stake in the private insurer New China Life in 1995, before foreign investment in the insurance sector was allowed in China. Li denied the allegations, saying she has never known anyone from an insurance company, though it was later revealed that her husband, the grandson of revolutionary general Liu Bojian, had previously been a high-ranking executive at New China Life.

The discovery of the hidden Swiss account comes amid intensifying online rumors that the 86-year-old Li Peng could be the next "tiger" to be targeted by Xi in his ongoing anti-corruption sweep. Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun speculates that the first domino to fall before any official probe into Li Peng could be his only daughter, who is said to be the "manager" of the family's vast wealth. Li Peng's oldest son Li Xiaopeng, a successful businessman now serving as the governor of Shaanxi province, is also a potential target. The report said Li Xiaopeng has close links to members of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and is suspected of leaking state secrets, while Li Xiaolin is alleged to be hiding assets overseas.

Hong Kong's Yazhou Zhoukan also recently revealed that Gao Yan, the most-wanted fugitive under Operation Fox Hunt launched by Beijing last year to track down corrupt officials and fraudsters who have fled overseas, has strong ties to the Li family. Gao, a former party chief of Yunnan province who fled China in 2002, was said to have been appointed deputy general manager of the State Electric Power Corporation in 1997 at the behest of Li Peng. Li Xioapeng was once Gao's deputy and Li Xiaolin was once his assistant, the report said.

 

[Spetsnaz]

1,000 officers swoop on suspected drug dens

China Daily, February 17, 2015

Police have detained 33 suspects in a large-scale raid on a village that has a reputation for drug dealing and gambling, the Zhanjiang bureau of public security said on Sunday.
1,000 officers swoop on suspected drug dens

Police search a suspect during the crackdown on drug dealing and gambling in Wenche, Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, on Friday. [Photo/China Daily]

More than 1,000 officers swooped on Wenche, a village in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, and entered six drug dens and four casinos on Friday, the bureau said in a statement.

Fifteen bags containing different kinds of drugs were seized, along with nine cars and vans, 10 motorbikes, a large number of knives, equipment used for taking drugs, hi-fi systems and other items. However, the statement did not reveal the size of the drug haul.

The operation was the climax of an investigation that lasted several months.

Wenche has been the focus of a large number of drug and gambling cases.

An officer who declined to be named said the village was a major target in the fight against drugs, gambling and related crimes ahead of Lunar New Year on Thursday.

"Police are interrogating the suspects detained in the operation and pursuing and capturing others who escaped," he added.

"The secret drug venues and casinos were operated by suspects from the village who are on the run."

The officer said the fight against drugs and gambling would continue in the coming months, and hinted that more special operations will be launched around Spring Festival.

 

[Midway]

Man slaughters family in New Year dispute

Source: Xinhua Published: 2015-2-17 12:48:48

A man in north China's Hebei Province killed himself on Monday afternoon after murdering seven members of his family, including his wife and children, according to local police.

The tragedy happened in Xiaonangou Village of Chengde County three days ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year, an occasion for family reunions in China.

Police officers found seven bodies at the home of the man, Wu Shouguo, including that of Wu, and another body in a factory about 100 meters away, along with a suicide note left by Wu, said a spokesman with Chengde's public security bureau on Tuesday.

Police believe Wu battered to death his wife, his wife's parents, two children and two distant relatives with a blunt object after a family dispute and then took poison.

They are continuing to investigate the case.

 

[Spetsnaz]

Around the nation: 70-year-old saves children from icy river

Also: Subsidies for centenarians; Jailed woman turned to heroin dealing to pay for drugs for cancer-stricken husband

PUBLISHED : Friday, 20 February, 2015, 8:45pm
UPDATED : Friday, 20 February, 2015, 8:45pm

Septuagenarian Zhuang Xuejie is the local hero in Dezhou, Shandong after he saved three children who fell through broken ice on a local river. Photo: SCMP Pictures

SHANDONG

Saviours in their 70s

Zhang Xuejie, who is in his 70s, saved three children who fell through ice while playing on a river near their home in Dezhou, Iqilu.com reports. An 11-year-old girl and her friend were skating on the ice when it cracked, and her nine-year-old brother fell into the four-metre-deep river while trying to save them. The man, who was passing by, waded into the water and pulled them out one at a time. Earlier this month, a man in his 70s, who was recovering from heart surgery, rescued a family of five in Zhoukou, Henan after their pedicab crashed into an ice-filled ditch.

Centenarian subsidies

The provincial government will provide 13.5 million yuan in subsidies this year to more than 5,000 residents aged at least 100, Xinhua reports. With the largest population of senior citizens in the country, Shandong has set aside 4.5 billion yuan for projects and insurance targeting the elderly this year, including a basic monthly pension of 85 yuan per person above retirement age, the provincial finance department said.

BEIJING

Fewer fireworks accidents

Fewer fireworks accidents were reported in Beijing on the Lunar New Year's Eve this year, Xinhua reports. From midnight on Wednesday until 1am on Thursday, there were 25 accidents and 22 injuries caused by fireworks, down 14 per cent and 24 per cent respectively from last year. About 83,000 boxes of fireworks were sold in Beijing on Wednesday, a fall of 34 per cent, and more than 10,000 boxes of illegal fireworks were confiscated.

Crowds flock to temples

Snowy weather failed to deter about 200,000 people from visiting fairs at two major temples in Beijing on the first day of the Lunar New Year, a traditional event, the Beijing Morning Post reports. Nearly 120,000 visitors flocked to Ditan Temple on Thursday, and more than 70,000 to Longtan Temple. The number of visitors was similar to last year, temple managers said.

GUANGDONG

'Children start blaze'

Children set off fireworks that ignited a blaze in a six-storey residential block in Shenzhen on Lunar New Year's Eve, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reports. The fire started on the building's fourth floor and soon spread to the floor above, engulfing several hundred square metres, authorities said. There were no casualties as both floors were empty at the time.

Rental car prices soar

Car rental prices in Shenzhen have surged about seven-fold since Lunar New Year's Eve as demand for vehicles soared during the festival, Southcn.com reports. Only a few cars were left at most car rental agency yards in the city, and the situation was not expected to improve until Monday, the fifth day of the new year, agents said. Prices for car washing also tripled to about 100 yuan.

GUANGXI

Official 'took huge bribes'

An official from the Liuzhou civil air defence office has been arrested for alleged corruption, the Beijing Times reports. In an announcement on Thursday, municipal prosecutors claimed that Cheng Dongqiao, the office's former director, took "a huge amount" of bribes. Cheng, 53, was put under investigation a month ago.

The innovation game

Corporations in Guangxi became more innovative last year, launching more than 3,000 new technologies and products, Guangxi Daily reports. Local industrial corporations applied for more than 7,700 patents last year, an increase of 28 per cent from the previous year. More the 800 have been approved.

HAINAN

Sanya tourist traffic jam

More than 100,000 cars converged on Sanya , the most popular tourist destination in the island province, as the Lunar New Year holiday started, the China News Service reports. Traffic took more than an hour to move 3km from a major highway exit on Thursday as visitors from across the country flocked to the famed winter tourist destination. Thousands of government workers and volunteers were called up to manage the flock of visitors.

Boat fire tragedy

A woman died and her husband was missing after their fishing boat caught fire and sank in Danzhou on Thursday, Hinews.cn reports. The fire started early in the morning and soon engulfed four other boats berthed alongside. The blaze took three hours to put out. More than 100 rescuers failed to find the missing man.

HEBEI

On the take for years

A Baoding vehicle administration official has been jailed for 10 years for taking more than 300,000 yuan (HK$380,000) in bribes the Beijing Times reports. Song Haiyan, 42, the deputy director of the administration, helped procure Beijing-registered car licence plates in return for cash and prepaid cards between 2007 and late 2012. She was detained in 2013 for selling government certificates.

15 cars collide in snow

Four vehicles caught fire and 10 passengers were trapped in other vehicles in a 15-vehicle pile-up on the snow-bound Beijing-Chengde highway yesterday, the China News Service reports. Chengde firefighters said no one was injured. The road was cleared in three hours. Hebei officials issued a yellow alarm, the second highest, for icy roads.

HUBEI

Chemical blast kills 5

Five people were killed in an explosion at a chemical plant in Zhijiang, Yichang on Thursday, Hubei Daily reports. Authorities said the temperature of a chemical mixture rose suddenly during a test run at a fertiliser production workshop. The blast erupted when the mixture overflowed.

Dealt drugs for ill husband

A woman in Tongcheng county, Xianning has been jailed for seven years and fined 5,000 yuan for dealing drugs, Xnnews.com.cn reports. The woman started buying heroin in early 2013 as a painkiller for her cancer-stricken husband, and began dealing to pay for the drug. She sold 5.6 grams of heroin more than 40 times to several users from March 2013 to May 2014, for a profit of 4,900 yuan, the county court heard.

ZHEJIANG

Five die in shop blast

Five people, including three children, died a blast at a fireworks shop in Yongkang on Thursday, Zjol.com reports. Authorities said the shop owner lit a sample for a customer and the sparks ignited a pile of fireworks in front of the shop. Three others were injured. Police detained the owner.

Taxi driver killed in crash

A taxi driver died and a passenger was injured after the vehicle mounted a footpath and struck a tree in Wenzhou on Wednesday, the Wenzhou Business News reports. Police are investigating the cause.

 

[Spetsnaz]

Around the nation: Chinese boy left behind after toilet stop at gas station

Also, poppy-planting villager claims he has them for salad, and gang busted for using banned additives to make food look fresh

PUBLISHED : Sunday, 22 February, 2015, 8:27pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 22 February, 2015, 8:30pm

A worker at the petrol station in Henan, China, found the crying boy wandering alone after his mother and uncle accidentally left without him. Photo: Dahe.cn

BEIJING

Boat-death verdict

A Tongzhou court has awarded the family of a woman who died in a motorboat accident 790,000 yuan (HK$995,000) in compensation, the Beijing Times reports. The woman had gone out to sea with a friend in Tangshan , Hebei , last year, but they fell from the boat. The woman, who could not swim, died although she was wearing a life jacket. Her parents sued several parties for one million yuan, but the court ruled the woman was herself partly responsible for the accident.

Lucky-draw cheater jailed

A sales manager at e-shop Jd.com has been sentenced to 11 months in jail for embezzling 90,000 yuan in cash coupons, the Beijing Times reports. The man, 38, had created eight accounts on the website and in a 2013 lucky draw, listed them as winners of cash coupons, which he collected and spent. He turned himself in to police after his company grew suspicious.

GUANGDONG

Man dies in train toilet

An elderly man lay dead for eight hours in the toilet of a train before he was finally found when it reached its destination in Shenzhen, the Sou thern Metropolis News reports. The man's son was waiting for him at the train station and asked a train conductor for help when his father did not appear. The conductor found the body of the man, who had collapsed, in a toilet. A coroner said he had been dead for eight hours.

Hoarders escape blaze

A family of three had a lucky escape after their garbage caught fire, causing their three-storey flat in Zhuhai to go up in flames, Guangzhou Daily reports. Neighbours said a woman in the flat hoarded piles of paper and plastic. A neighbour spotted the blaze early on Saturday and banged on their door to wake the family, who jumped to a neighbour's balcony for safety. Firemen took over an hour to put out the fire.

HAINAN

Injured fisherman saved

A Sansha fisherman was saved after suffering serious injuries as a result of falling 4.5 metres from the deck of his boat off Huangyan Island on Thursday, China News Service reports. The sea rescue authority sent a vessel and a medical team to rescue the man and take him to a hospital on Yongxing Island, a 10-hour sail away. He is in a stable condition.

Longer duty-free list

Hainan will expand the number of duty-free goods to 38 and relax purchase quotas for some items after a test run of duty-free shopping on the island fell short of expectations, People's Daily reports. From March 20, Hainan's duty-free goods will include air purifiers, home medical equipment and infant formula, and the quota for buying perfume, cosmetics and watches will be increased. Duty-free shoppers accounted for only 10 per cent of tourists, who spent an average of 2,680 yuan each.

HENAN

Massive highway crash

A 21-vehicle pile-up in Xuchang city on Saturday left two drivers injured, China News Service reports. The incident occurred after a truck overturned on an icy road. Two drivers were trapped in their vehicles and taken to hospital. A section of the highway was closed. The traffic authorities blamed fog, with visibility less than 5 metres.

Young boy left behind

A mother and uncle left a young boy at a Pingdingshan service station on Friday and returned to pick him up two hours later, Dahe Daily reports. A petrol station worker found the boy crying on the highway. He said he had been in his uncle's car, but couldn't find it after he came back from the toilet. He did not know his mother's phone number. The mother and uncle each thought the boy was in the other's car.

HUNAN

Family outing turns tragic

Three people died and six were missing after a private vessel capsized in Shaoyang county on Saturday, Rednet.cn reports. Eighteen people, all family members, were on board the vessel on a trip home from an island when the vessel sank. Nine people were rescued and are in stable condition.

Mao gets more visitors

More than 128,000 people visited Shaoshanchong, the hometown of late leader Mao Zedong , on Saturday, the first day of the Lunar New Year, Hunan Daily reports. The figure was over 25 per cent more than the same day last year, despite rain this year. It has become a custom for some to visit the area over the Lunar New Year. One visitor said he had been doing so for the last 20 years.

SHAANXI

Theme-park death

A Shangluo teenager was killed on Friday when a theme park ride started suddenly after the girl's safety belt was removed, Huashang Daily reports. The 17-year-old high school pupil had just finished the ride and a staff member was undoing her safety belt when the ride started again. The girl was thrown to the ground from a height of at least 20 metres. Her friend said the staff member did not even try to stop the ride when the incident occurred.

Farmers go online

The Shaanxi agriculture department will train 1,000 farmers to become e-commerce entrepreneurs this year in an effort to raise the farmers' earnings, Huashang Daily reports. It will set up platforms on popular e-commerce sites as well as 100 model townships focused on selling agricultural products online. The department's move is aimed at cutting distribution links and lowering trade costs, so as to increase the farmers' income.

SHANDONG

Food comes first

Shandong people have ranked making dumplings as the most important activity in promoting family unity during the Lunar New Year, according to a survey by Dazhong Daily. Visiting relatives and friends came next on their list, followed by watching the CCTV Spring Festival gala and travelling. Dumplings are a traditional new-year dish for the people in the province.

Poppies in your salad?

Police in Juye county have destroyed nearly 1,000 poppy plants planted by a villager who claimed he used them only to make salad, Iqilu.com reports. Police inspected the villager's home on a tip-off but were told by the man that he only mixed the plants with vinegar and ate them as salad. Another villager who heard of the raid destroyed more than 3,000 of his plants himself. Poppy planting is banned in China except by an authorised firm in Gansu . It is not clear if the villagers were charged, but cultivating over 500 poppy plants carries a jail term.

SHANGHAI

Hostel fire extinguished

Firefighters had to remove a burning liquefied gas cylinder from the kitchen of a hostel in Jinshan district after it caught fire on Saturday, the Shanghai Morning Post reports. The cylinder's vault was damaged and firefighters managed to put out the fire within an hour after removing it from the kitchen. Guests in the hostel were evacuated and no one was injured in the accident.

'Fresh food' gang busted

Police in Hongkou district have busted a workshop that had been adding banned additives in food to make them look fresh as hotpot material, the Shanghai Morning Post reports. The suspects said they dipped ox stomach parts and sea cucumber - both popular hotpot dishes - in industrial base to make them appear fresher and more appealing to customers. Police had acted on a tip-off.

 

[Midway]

Corrupt mainland drug firms 'fuelling crystal meth scourge', says UN official

United Nations drug official says crooked pharmaceutical companies are helping drive Guangdong province's grim production line

PUBLISHED : Sunday, 22 February, 2015, 3:35am
UPDATED : Sunday, 22 February, 2015, 3:35am

Bryan Harris [email protected]

Corrupt mainland drug firms 'fuelling crystal meth scourge', says UN official

Corruption within China's pharmaceutical industry is a key factor in Guangdong province becoming the production centre for the burgeoning global trade in crystal meth, a top United Nations drugs official said.

Speaking in the wake of a massive seizure of the powerful stimulant near Lufeng district earlier this month - one of the biggest ever in Asia - senior UN drug official Jeremy Douglas said the quick and easy access to precursor chemicals required to make crystal meth clearly pointed to "corruption in the pharmaceutical and or chemical industries'' in the mainland.

Douglas was briefed by Chinese officials in the immediate aftermath of the bust in which 2.4 tonnes of methamphetamine - known as Ice in Hong Kong - was seized.

His assertion comes amid President Xi Jinping's ongoing drives against graft and drugs, and follows UN pledges to strengthen co-operation with Beijing and others in the region in the fight against drug gangs and the corrupt networks that underpin them.

"To operate a lab like this, you need a lot of chemicals, which are legitimate, regulated chemicals from the pharmaceutical industry," Douglas said.

"This group has been able to get their hands on the precursor chemicals necessary to produce the drugs. They've been doing it for a long time, which means they're getting these chemicals on a regular basis.

"There is some kind of corruption in the chemical/pharmaceutical industry taking place allowing this to happen."

Meth can be manufactured using a variety of chemicals - most notably ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, which are also used in cold and flu medicine.

The latest seizure follows the January arrest of Hongkonger Wong Chi-ping - suspected of being a major drugs kingpin in the region - in Indonesia during a raid that netted 860kg of Guangdong-manufactured meth.

Last November, 400 tonnes of chemicals seized before they could be turned into meth were destroyed by police in Lufeng.

Lufeng is a traditional heartland of Hong Kong's largest triad, the Sun Yee On.

Of the latest haul, Douglas said: "It was most likely bound for a whole variety of destinations within and outside China."

Hong Kong officials said a record number of drugs busts at the airport last year was due to "enhanced enforcement and intelligence" - not increased trafficking activity.

Shenzhen authorities captured 4.2 tonnes of narcotics in November and arrested 5,000 people, a number of whom were involved in drug trafficking to Australia via Hong Kong. And in June, the meth trafficking issue was believed to have been on the agenda when Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok met ministers in Australia and New Zealand.

 

[Pfizer]

Chinese courts punish 2,100 police

Xinhua, February 22, 2015

A total of 2,108 law enforcers with China's court system were investigated and punished in 2014.

The Supreme People's Court (SPC) announced on Saturday that 180 cases had been handed over for judicial investigations.

Discipline inspectors also held 73 senior local court officials accountable for failures in supervision that led to these violations, the SPC said in a statement.

The inspectors in 2014 have intensified routine checks over the courts' judicial work and 1,206 enforcers were found to have conducted irregularity practices.

A total of 196 law enforcers were punished for using public funds for personal expenditure or personal use of public vehicles.

The statement reiterated zero tolerance of corruption in the judicial system.

 

[Spetsnaz]

Around the nation: Lunar New Year has Chinese figurine-maker rolling in dough

Also, actor undergoes 'dramatic' weight loss and young man goes on a speed-dating spree

PUBLISHED : Monday, 23 February, 2015, 9:02pm
UPDATED : Monday, 23 February, 2015, 9:02pm

Chinese 'dough master' Liu Gang crafts historical Chinese characters from dough. Photo: e23.cn

BEIJING

Attacked at home

A Beijing couple was attacked in their home by an intruder on Lunar New Year's Eve, Beijing Morning Post reports. The couple, Jiangxi natives, had decided to remain in the capital over the festive season this year. But late at night, the husband awoke to his wife's screams and found her on the floor, bleeding from the head. He then spotted the intruder, who was armed with a kitchen knife, and struggled with the man, sustaining several slashes in the process. The man received 13 stitches for his wounds and the woman required 15. Investigations were ongoing.

Dramatic weight loss

A Beijing actor performing at the Temple of Heaven over the Lunar New Year revealed that he lost 3kg in just five days while acting out his role, China Radio International reports. Zhong Jixian, 31, who has played the emperor role for the past six years, said he performed in 10 shows, each about 70 minutes long, over the first five days of the new year. He said he had to be extremely focused in acting out his part, including keeping the solemn, powerful stance of an emperor as he walked.

GUANGDONG

Factory worker found dead

Police in Guangzhou's Haizhu district are looking into the death of a man in a garment factory, the Southern Metropolis News reports. The 38-year-old Hubei native, Cai Jinming, had been dead for a few days before his body was discovered on Sunday. His co-workers at the factory had been trying to locate him for days. Cai, whose wife died last year, leaves behind an eight-year-old daughter.

Bird flu cases hit 54

A 48-year-old woman from Jinping district was diagnosed with H7N9 bird flu on Saturday, bringing the province's total number of human H7N9 cases to 54, Xinhua reports. The virus strain has so far killed 13 people in Guangzhou. As a precaution, the provincial authorities have banned the live poultry trade until the end of the month. Other H7N9 cases have been reported in Shanghai, Fujian , Jiangxi , Guizhou and Zhejiang this winter.

HEILONGJIANG

Taking the icy plunge

More than 200 people braved the bitter cold to join a swimming event in icy water in Mudanjiang on Sunday, Xinhua reports. Most of them were amateur winter swimmers who were there to prove that they could beat the cold.

One crash after another

About 20 cars were involved in a massive pile-up after a traffic accident on the Harbin Daqing Expressway on Sunday afternoon, Ncnews.com.cn reports. The accident occurred after a car crashed into the rear of another, causing a domino effect as other vehicles came up from behind on the highway. Some cars slid into a roadside ditch. Traffic authorities closed the highway temporarily.

HENAN

Speed holiday dating

A young man from Xiayi county went on 25 blind dates in just five days over the Lunar New Year holidays, Dahe.cn reports. The man is well educated, has a good family background and is reportedly picky about choosing his life partner. Chinese parents are often keen to find matches for their children when they return home for the annual holidays.

Stomping, stabbing rage

A man from Xinyang city stabbed a policeman after the officer ordered him to stop stomping on a car parked on the street, China News Service reported. Mei Chunyang allegedly punched the policeman in the face when he was approached, the Xinyang Public Security Bureau said. He then whipped out a fruit knife and slashed the officer's face and stabbed his arm, police claimed.

HUBEI

Struck with grief

A Maojian district court bailiff attacked a female doctor after hospital staff failed to save his wife's life, People's Daily Online reports. The bailiff, who was overcome with grief when his wife died from a massive stroke in Shiyan People's Hospital, assaulted the doctor on duty, causing her to suffer hearing loss, fractured bones and facial bruises. The matter is being investigated.

Lonely no more

A lonely man in Wuhan tried to commit suicide after his children did not return home to celebrate the Lunar New Year with him, Xinhua reports. The man, in his 60s, had sprained his foot on the eve of the festival and was disappointed that his son and daughter did not plan to visit. He decided to take his own life by jumping into a nearby river, but police found him and contacted his children, who rushed home to tend to him.

HUNAN

Extorted money returned

A woman who was forced to pay a train passenger 1,500 yuan (HK$1,890) for accidentally spilling water on him was pleasantly surprised when police chased down the man and made him return the money, Rednet.cn reports. The woman had bumped into the man on the train and spilled water on him as she was about to alight. He demanded 1,500 yuan compensation and she complied as she was in a hurry. A policeman who heard of the dispute tracked down the man, chastised him and made him return the money. The officer then traced the woman through her local police station and gave the money back to her.

Pungent craving

It appears that Hunan people have a preference for feasting on stinky tofu over the Lunar New Year, the Changsha Evening News reports. A survey conducted by the paper found that people in the province spent an average of about 51 yuan per meal, and the most popular dishes among them were stinky tofu, tasty shrimp and beef vermicelli.

SHAANXI

Poisonous buns

Three people died in Suide county from accidental borax poisoning, China News Service reports. The three were among five in a family who felt sick after eating home-made buns. Preliminary investigations showed the person who made the steamed buns mistakenly used powdered borax - a substance commonly used in household cleaning products - instead of fermented flour.

Long-awaited holiday

The province's coal miners are taking their first Lunar New Year off in 20 years, China News Service reports. The Chinese National Coal Association approved a proposal by Shenhua Coal and 14 other mining firms to let their miners go on paid holidays over the festive season. The miners were ecstatic to be able to spend the new year with their loved ones for the first time in two decades.

SHANDONG

Blinding sparks

The use of fireworks over the Lunar New Year has cost a man his eye, Xinhua reports. The man, from Dezhou , was hit in the eye by a firecracker he lit. Doctors said he would never regain sight in that eye. His hospital also treated three others injured by firecrackers this festive season.

Rolling in dough

A dough-figurine maker has worked through the Lunar New Year holidays for the 17th year in a row, E23.cn reports. "Dough master" Liu Gang, 48, has performed at Jinan's Daming Lake Temple over the festive season for 17 years, spending five to six hours each time crafting historical Chinese characters from dough. Liu said his art had become a rarity and should be culturally preserved.

 

[Spetsnaz]

Chinese man rises to fame via lost American iPhone

February 23, 2015

A selfie of "Bro Orange", taken on a stolen iPhone. [Photo/Weibo]

A Chinese man, dubbed "Brother Orange", became a celebrity in China lately after his selfies made their way to the mobile phone of an American more than 13,000 kilometers away.

The American man, Matt Stopera, was browsing through the photo stream on his iPhone, when he found lots of photos he didn't take, according to a report by the Beijing Youth Daily on Monday.

He saw menus with Chinese characters, girls with black hair, and a bald man posing by an orange tree, whom he referred to jokingly on Twitter as Bro Orange.

Stopera lost an iPhone early last year. Someone guessed that the phone might be brought to China and sold in the second-hand market. These photos were taken and reached him through iCloud. He had signed into iCloud with the old iPhone before it was missing.

After the odd news was reported in the United States, a web user Hereinuk posted it on microblog Sina Weibo, a Chinese version of Twitter, on Thursday. "Should Brother Orange see this, I will send him a new iPhone, and put him in touch with the American," he said.

Chinese netizens soon succeeded in locating Brother Orange in Meizhou of south China's Guangdong province on Friday.

On Saturday, Brother Orange opened an account on Weibo. "I don't sell oranges," he said. "A relative gave me the phone."

He then invited Stopera to China in both English and Chinese. "Matt, welcome to our country," he said. "I am looking forward to seeing you and inviting you to taste our Meizhou cuisine."

Brother Orange got more than 35,000 followers within three days. His nephew told Beijing Youth Daily that some people even visited him for group photos.

"When I posted the story, I thought we might have 50 percent of chances of finding Brother Orange," Hereinuk was quoted in the same report. He also said on his microblog that he had ordered a new iPhone and delivered it to Brother Orange.

Stopera started using Weibo as well. "Hello everyone!" he said. "Thank you so much for helping me find my phone and Bro Orange! This has been such a great journey and only possible because of all of you! It's a dream of mine to visit China and hopefully I will get to meet Bro Orange and see your country!"

Chinese web users were thrilled at the happy ending. "This is true love," many hailed. "Amazing," said Quan Zhilin. "The life of an iPhone," said another.

 

[Spetsnaz]

Around the nation: Pig 'prays' at temple

Also: Man has surgery to look like idol, Lei Feng; ambulance trapped in traffic for 12 hours

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 25 February, 2015, 8:57pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 25 February, 2015, 8:57pm

Worshippers at a Buddhist temple near Wenzhou were surprised when a pig turned up during a New Year ceremony and refused to move until a monk read it scriptures, according to witnesses. PHOTO: SCMP Pictures

ZHEJIANG

Devout pig

A pig appeared outside a Buddhist temple in Yongjia county, Wenzhou in what appeared to be a pose of praying on the last day of a Dharma Assembly ceremony, the Qianjiang Evening News reports. The pig stayed in the pose for a long time and refused to leave until a senior monk chanted scriptures to it. Photos posted online amazed some internet users, while others claimed the animal was suffering from a vitamin E deficiency. The pig's owner, unfortunately, slaughtered the animal that night but later expressed regret when he learned the animal may have been holy.

Red packet mania

About 240 million online red envelops were sent through Alipay on the eve of Lunar New Year, worth about 4 billion yuan (HK$5 billion) in total, the Qianjiang Evening News reports. A man from Hangzhou sent more than 60,000 virtual red envelopes, worth 260,000 yuan, the paper said. Online commentators said he was the most generous man this holiday season. Online red envelopes are a recent online innovation.

ANHUI

An unfortunate end

A 47-year-old man in Feidong county drowned in a cesspit while using the toilet after drinking excessively at a new year banquet, the Anhui Shangbao reports. His family and friends went to look for him when he did not return to the table. They found him in the toilet, face down in excrement. Police ruled out foul play.

Ultimate Lei Feng tribute

After three rounds of plastic surgery, Zhang Yidong, 33, has successfully made himself look like Lei Feng , the PLA soldier upheld by Mao Zedong as a role model of altruism and modesty for the nation, the China Youth Daily reports. He also posted photos of himself online wearing in an old PLA uniform. Zhang said he adored Lei and all he stood for, but internet users have questioned whether his real motivation was to make himself famous, which Zhang denied.

BEIJING

Three little pigs

A man in Haidian district kept three black pigs outside his apartment block over Lunar New Year, but the smell raised complaints from other residents, the Beijing Morning Post reports. Urban management inspectors convinced the man to demolish the temporary pigsty and get rid of the animals.

Icy escape

A couple are recovering after they fell through ice while taking a shortcut home across a frozen river in Miyun county, the Beijing Morning Post reports. When rescuers arrived, the man was lying on the ice, exhausted and soaked in icy water, while the woman was still in the water. Both were rescued within minutes.

GUANGDONG

On the street

A Shenzhen sanitation worker has spent the past 13 lunar new years cleaning city streets, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reports. The 49-year-old woman works from 4am to 7pm. She has refused pleas from relatives in Sichuan to retire. Her husband moved to Shenzhen to be a sanitation worker four years ago so they could live together, and her children have found jobs there as well.

Man dies at factory

A 38-year-old man died at work during the Lunar New Year at a garment factory in Haizhu district, Guangzhou, the Southern Metropolis News reports. Neighbours found his body after he had been missing for several days. He had volunteered to guard the factory because he couldn't afford to go home for the holiday.

HUBEI

Granny's grand act

A 78-year-old grandmother made what appeared to be an impromptu appeal to her unmarried granddaughter to find a husband during a Lunar New Year banquet, the Wuhan Wanbao reports. Bursting into tears, the grandmother told her 27-year-old granddaughter, Fang, that she did not want to die without seeing her married. Fang was quite moved - until she overheard her grandmother asking her mother if it was a good piece of acting. Fang nevertheless said she should start thinking about marriage soon.

Fears for professor

A Wuhan professor has been missing since leaving a hospital where he was a patient during the Lunar New Year, the Chutian Metropolis Daily reports. He was last seen about five days ago near a bridge over the Yangtze River. Before leaving the hospital, he messaged his wife saying he didn't want to suffer anymore, and asked her to visit him every Ching Ming festival, or grave-sweeping day. Police are continuing their search.

JIANGSU

Reluctant millionaire

A millionaire in Nanjing has continued to work as a security guard at a residential compound because he doesn't want others to know that he had received a large payout when his home was demolished, the Jinling Wanbao reports. The man, who was previously poor, said neighbours and relatives started teasing him about his wealth. Fed up, he decided to find a job so he could show he could support himself like anyone else.

False alarm

Police rushed to a flat in Nanjing after a screaming and crying child phoned the 110 emergency number then hung up. When they arrived at the home, the parents were completely surprised. They discovered two children were playing hide and seek when the younger one phoned police. Police gave the family a stern lecture.

SHAANXI

Mahjong marathon

A Xian man in 50s is recovering after he collapsed under the table while playing mahjong for three days, the Huashang Daily reports. The man lived alone, but as his son was travelling during the holiday, he decided to spend the time playing mahjong with friends, taking short breaks for sleeping and eating. He was taken to hospital and recovered quickly. Last week, a Hubei man nearly lost his leg from severely restricted blood circulation after playing mahjong for 24 hours.

Woman drowns herself

A woman in her 40s jumped into a river and drowned in Xian after arguing over family issues and financial problems with two men, the Huashang Daily reports. Witnesses said the woman leaped into the river when the men turned away to make phone calls. The crowd called police immediately but when firefighters arrived the woman was already dead. Police are investigating.

SICHUAN

Traffic traps ambulance

A doctor in an ambulance shouted hundreds of times through a loudspeaker for vehicles on a highway to make way in the emergency lane, the Chengdu Economic Daily reports. The journey, which would normally take an hour, lasted 12 hours. The doctor was accompanying three car accident victims from Xichang to Chongqing . The victims' families want drivers who refused to move aside to be prosecuted. Police are examining photos and video of about 40 vehicles.

Bone of contention

A family's holiday was ruined when the 58-year-old father got a fishbone stuck in his oesophagus and was unable to find a hospital that could perform a gastroscopy during the Lunar New Year. Relatives tried to help the father with some traditional methods, but they only made him more uncomfortable. They went first to the county hospital, a city hospital, and later the two major provincial hospitals in Chengdu , only to be told to wait until doctors had returned to work after the holiday. Hospitals claimed that the procedure was not categorised as emergency treatment.

 

[Midway]

Traffic light confusion for Chinese motorists after city raises Lunar New Year red lanterns

Motorists are angry after confusing hundreds of thousands of Lunar New Year red lanterns for traffic lights in one Chinese city.

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 25 February, 2015, 6:36pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 25 February, 2015, 6:41pm

Keira L Huang [email protected]

Motorists in Xian claim they have confused the Lunar New Year red lantern decorations at road junctions for traffic lights. Photo: sxdaily.com.cn

Motorists are angry after confusing hundreds of thousands of Lunar New Year red lanterns for traffic lights in one Chinese city.

The traditional decorations in Xian, in Shaanxi province, led to a wave of online complaints, the sxdaily.com.cn news website reported.

Xian's traffic police say that they have inspected all the lanterns and found clocks displayed beside traffic lights, which count down the time drivers must wait, are all still clearly visible. Photo: sxdaily.com.cn

One local driver claimed he was distracted by the red lanterns and failed to stop at traffic lights, which had led to him losing all 12 points on his driving licence, the Huashang Daily reported.

The city’s traffic police said on the force’s official weibo account that it had inspected all the lanterns and found that clocks displayed next to traffic lights, which count down the time drivers have to wait, were all still clearly visible.

“Hopefully drivers will not pay too much attention to the lovely decorations,” the police wrote.

 

[DSGunner]

Around the nation: Temple staff don helmets as it rains pennies to the God of Wealth

Also: Highly educated coffee shop thief is a real mug; Marriages barely outnumber divorces in Nanjing on first working day of Lunar New Year

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 26 February, 2015, 9:45pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 26 February, 2015, 9:45pm

Workers at Wuhan's Guiyuan Temple in Wuhan don helmets as worshippers showered coins on the God of Wealth. Photo: SCMP Pictures

HUBEI

Raining pennies

Workers at Guiyuan Temple in Wuhan strapped on helmets as worshippers tossed a shower of coins at the main shrine on Monday, the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, which marks the visit of the God of Wealth, Chinanews.com reports. Throwing coins at the shrine is believed to bring good fortune in the year ahead.

Boy at the wheel

A boy aged about five was photographed gripping the steering wheel of a car being driven along a street in Wuhan on Tuesday, as his parents sat calmly beside him, the Yangtse River Daily reports. The photographer said the car was travelling at about 50km/h, although very few vehicles were on the street at the time. Police said parents who let minors drive would be prosecuted.

BEIJING

Trial for pop star

Popular singer Yin Xiangjie will stand trial tomorrow morning in Chaoyang district court for drug possession, the Beijing Youth Daily reports. Yin, a former anti-drugs ambassador for Beijing, is the latest mainland celebrity prosecuted for drug-related offences. He was detained in late December after 15 grams of various drugs were seized at this home. He faces up to seven years in prison and fines if convicted.

Freebies for green cars

The municipal government is considering granting free parking to and waiving highway tolls for owners of renewable energy vehicles this year as a part of the city's ambitious efforts to tackle air pollution, The Beijing News reports. About 150,000 new cars would hit the city's roads this year, including 30,000 that ran on renewable energy, the report said.

CHONGQING

Grandparents cause split

A couple filed for divorce on Wednesday after their own parents argued over taking care of their four-month-old grandson, the Chongqing Evening News reports. The couple told the judge that the wife's mother, who had been taking care of the child since he was born, refused to give the grandson to the husband's parents during the Lunar New Year. Their divorce application was rejected because the child was less than a year old, and the couple agreed to settle the dispute.

Costly dinner surprise

A 31-year-old woman was informed by her bank that three unauthorised purchases were made on her credit card while she was having a Lunar New Year family dinner, the Chongqing Evening News reports. The transactions, totalling about 13,000 yuan (HK$16,400), were made in Bangladesh for three air tickets. Police said her credit card data may have been leaked when she travelled abroad, according to the report.

JIANGSU

Ins and outs of marriage

In all, 124 couples tied the knot while 111 couples filed for divorce in Nanjing on Wednesday, the first working day after the Lunar New Year holiday, the Modern Express reports. Civil affairs officials said the divorce rate was higher than on normal days, and that people might have decided to make a new start after the break, according to the report.

Poodle in lab

A doctor was criticised by hospital management after she was photographed taking a dog to a hospital laboratory in Liyang on Sunday, the Modern Express reports. Photos circulated online showing a white poodle sitting on a chair behind a woman doctor as she worked. The doctor explained the dog was with her husband when he brought her dinner that day, and stayed in the lab for a few minutes.

SHAANXI

Mum loses daughter

A mother in a hurry to get home to prepare dinner on Lunar New Year's Eve found her daughter was missing from the bike seat after a 30-minute ride in Xian on Wednesday, Sanqin.com reports. The mother, who retraced her journey along the same route without finding the child, reported the incident to the police. The little girl, who was already safely in their care, told officers that she fell off the back of the bike but her mother rode away too quickly to notice. She was taken to the police station by a shopping mall security guard.

On the beat

Xian police have detained a man suspected of stealing a smartphone at the city's famous Drum and Bell Tower Square tourist site on Tuesday night as the district's police chief was inspecting the area, the Huashang Daily reports. The phone, which was worth 2,700 yuan, was returned to the owner, the report said.

SHANDONG

Driver faces suspension

A bus driver faces a possible suspension of his licence after police found 54 passengers squeezed into his 34-seat minibus at a checkpoint in Jinan on Tuesday, news portal dzwww.com reports. The driver was fined 2,000 yuan and 12 demerit points, which means he may only be able to drive a car, but not a bus or other small vehicles, in future.

Boy drinks herbicide

A 15-year-old boy in Jinan remains in critical condition after accidentally drinking herbicide, Xinhuanet.com reports. The severely near-sighted boy mistakenly drank the toxic liquid, thinking it was a bottled drink, on Sunday night. He was rushed to hospital and was being closely monitored, the report said.

XINJIANG

Quake in far west

A magnitude 5 earthquake that struck mountainous Shawan county west of the capital Urumqi on Sunday damaged 1,728 houses, Xinhuanet.com reports. Local government officials said more than 6,700 people were affected but no deaths or injuries were reported.

Ancient city found

Archeologists in the remote city of Kashgar have unearthed traces of an ancient city that is probably the oldest in the region, the Guangming Daily reports. The ruins were discovered near a riverbank in Shache county. The remains suggest that the settlement might have been built during the Neolithic or Bronze ages and covered an area of about one hectare.

ZHEJIANG

Smart thief just a mug

A 40-year-old man with a master's degree and a decent job has confessed to stealing on four occasions from a Starbuck's coffee shop in Hangzhou since December because he had to wait too long at the checkout, the Today Morning Express reports. The man, who described himself as a "Starbucks fanatic" who had collected more than 100 Starbucks mugs, told police he stole two mugs, a bag of coffee beans and a notebook from the same shop.

New foreign schools

Two international boarding schools for foreign children are expected to open this year in Hangzhou in addition to the two foreign schools already operating in this city of 2.5 million people, southeast of Shanghai, Zjol.com reports. Two hundred students are expected to be admitted to the new schools this year. At present, 518 students from 40 countries study at the city's two foreign schools, one offering an English curriculum, and the other Japanese.

 

[DSGunner]

Around the nation: Habitual mobile-phone using student seeks medical treatment for eye disorder and trembling hand

Also: No place like someone else's home; man who didn't trust banks loses fortune buried in backyard to thieving nephew instead

PUBLISHED : Friday, 27 February, 2015, 9:24pm
UPDATED : Friday, 27 February, 2015, 9:24pm

A student is seeking medical treatment for his eyes and wrist after chasing online red packets during the Lunar New Year holiday. Photo: SCMP Pictures

GUANGDONG

Dial 'S' for sick

A college student in Guangzhou who is a habitual mobile phone user has sought medical treatment for his constantly teary eyes and a continual spasm in his right hand, the New Express reports. Doctors confirmed that both symptoms were the result of playing with his cell phone for too much. The student said he tried to catch as many virtual red packets as possible during the Lunar New Year holiday, and barely left his phone. Doctors have also seen more cases of cervical spondylopathy, a condition affecting vertebrae of the neck, after the holidays.

Quarrel ends in tragedy

A couple in their late 20s drowned in Xinyi county following a petty argument, leaving their five-year-old son and three-year-old daughter orphans, Nanfang Daily reports. Neighbours said the couple started arguing after shopping, and the woman ran off and jumped into the river at about midnight. Her husband trying to rescue her but disappeared. By the time rescuers arrived, both had drowned.

ANHUI

Foiled by nephew

A man in Si county who did not trust banks found that about half a million yuan (HK$630,000) he had buried in his backyard disappeared during the Lunar New Year holiday, Ahwang.cn reports. Police found that his nephew stole the money to pay off a gambling debt.

Smouldering resentment

A man in Hefei set his own house on fire as revenge after an argument with his wife and son, the Anhui Shangbao reports. Firefighters and neighbours who tried to put out the blaze noticed the man standing aside, unmoved by the blaze. He was arrested after confessing that he piled his family's clothes in the bedroom, doused them in liquor and set them alight.

BEIJING

New year's pickings

Taking advantage of the busy Lunar New Year travel season, a pickpocket stole seven mobile phones including three iPhones, and five wallets containing more than 4,000 yuan at Beijing West Station, The Beijing News reports. He waited at the exits as passengers were in a rush to leave. He was later captured by railway police.

The art of the con

Prosecutors in Haidan district have ordered the formal arrest of a man for defrauding an artist of 1 million yuan, the Beijing Times reports. The man pretended to be the heir to an ancient Chinese royal family who needed to borrow the money to unfreeze his family's "royal assets". In return, he promised to stage an exhibition of the victim's paintings. The victim's family became suspicious and reported the man to police. The suspect admitted that he had tried variations of the same trick since 1996, netting him more than 2 million yuan.

CHONGQING

At their convenience

At least eight women were seen using the men's restroom within an hour at a busy tourist attraction in Shapingba district, the Chongqing Evening News reports. With long lines outside of the women's restroom, some, especially elderly women, walked directly into men's room. Some even took their children with them. Men said they could understand but felt awkward sharing the facility.

Monkey's collection racket

A wild monkey has visited a villager's house every day since last week to be fed peanuts, the Chongqing Chen Bao reports. The villager tried to make friends with the monkey, but the animal seemed interested only in the food. Each morning, the monkey has arrived at the house to collect his peanuts, which he takes away to eat. The villager was happy to see the monkey and said he would continue provide it with peanuts.

JIANGSU

Happy to be arrested

An meth addict in Liuhe county said he was relieved to be arrested because he finally had a safe place to stay away from debt collectors, the Yangtse Evening Post reports. He said he was about to turn himself in when police came to arrest him. The man claimed he had to walk around his residential building at least twice before returning home to make sure there were no debt collectors waiting for him. He will spend two years in rehabilitation.

Street cleaners assaulted

A married couple who are sanitation workers were assaulted by urban inspectors in Nanjing after an argument over street litter, Xhby.net reports. The couple confronted the inspectors who were throwing away posters they cleared from walls onto the street they had just swept. The wife tried to stop them but was told to leave the waste alone. The husband then came to her aid. The wife is still in hospital and cannot walk. Local officials said it was a misunderstanding, as the two departments usually worked well together.

JIANGXI

Hunter becomes hunted

A hunter who posted photos online of himself killing protected wild animals, including a crested goshawk, has been widely condemned by internet users, CCTV reports. The man turned himself in after the photos circulated widely.

Love's labour lost

A middle-school student knelt for hours outside the home of an elderly couple, begging them to convince their granddaughter to date him, the China News Service reports. He even ignored pleas from his own mother to go home. The couple called the police who dragged him into a squad car and took him away. The boy was rejected after he confessed his feelings to the girl. He went to her grandparents' house after a few drinks.

ZHEJIANG

Makes himself at home

A 22-year-old man who had his luggage and money stolen at a train station on his way home for Lunar New Year squatted in a house in Beilun for four days while the owners were away for the holiday, the Xiandai Jinbao reports. With no place to stay in the town, he man broke into the empty house and found there was food, a computer, cigarettes and a bed. He was found discovered when the owners returned, and arrested.

Collie left at toll gate

A collie stayed at a highway toll-gate for 13 days waiting for its owners to return, the Qianjiang Evening News reports. The dog jumped out of the car through an open window on a foggy day. It chased and barked passing cars. Police are looking for the owners, and a pet shop is looking after the dog for now.

 

[Spetsnaz]

Around the nation: Man slashes neighbour's daughter, 10, in fury over fung shui

Also, humble bosses treat their workers to a 'foot spa', and overly thrilled college student ends up in hospital

PUBLISHED : Sunday, 01 March, 2015, 8:37pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 01 March, 2015, 8:40pm

The 10-year-old girl was slashed more than 20 times in the face, head and hands. Photo: Sina.cn

ZHEJIANG

Fung shui fury

An angry Wenzhou man slashed his neighbours with a kitchen knife because he believed their home affected his fung shui, Modern Gold Express reports. The man slashed his neighbour and the neighbour's 10-year-old daughter more than 20 times in the face, head and hand because their home was "slightly higher" than his, which he said affected the fung shui in his flat. The attacker was arrested, and internet users have donated money to help foot the little girl's medical bills.

Patient attacks doctor

A male patient at the Hangzhou Jingdu Hospital stabbed a female doctor just as she was about to see him, Zjol.com.cn reports. The man, who is believed to have suffered from mental illness since he was 16, attacked the 50-year-old doctor on Saturday night, stabbing her in the back and stomach. The doctor lost a lot of blood but survived the stabbing. She was treated at another hospital.

CHONGQING

Bosses turn 'servants'

Two senior executives at a technology firm washed the feet of three workers to express appreciation for their hard work, Workers' Daily reports. The three employees also each received a 60,000 yuan (HK$75,400) bonus at an annual company dinner, on top of being treated to a "foot spa" given by their bosses. The trio said they felt embarrassed but touched by their bosses' humble gesture.

Bomb survivors lose case

A group of Chongqing plaintiffs have lost their case against the Japanese government over wartime bombings, Xinhua reports. The plaintiffs, who were either wounded or lost family members in bombings during the second world war, filed a lawsuit in 2006 demanding over 600,000 yuan in compensation and an apology from the Japanese government. The group's chief lawyer said they would appeal.

FUJIAN

Curiosity did him in

A nosey motorcyclist was arrested for drink-driving after he stopped to check out another drunk motorcyclist, China News Service reports. Police had stopped the first man after spotting him swerving left and right on the road in Jinan district. Not long later, the second man approached to see what was going on. Police smelled alcohol on him and noticed that his vehicle was unlicensed. He admitted he had had a big glass of baijiu before leaving home.

Dead fireman honoured

Fuan county has held a memorial service for a fireman who died in a rescue mission, Xmnn.cn reports. Ji Jiaqiang, 28, was honoured by the Ministry of Public Security as a revolutionary martyr and received a first-class meritorious commendation from the provincial public security department's party committee.

GUIZHOU

Top executive probed

The provincial discipline watchdog has transferred a case involving a top-level executive at the Kweichow Moutai Group to the judicial agencies, Xinhua reports. Deputy general manager Fang Guoxing may have violated party discipline and will face a criminal investigation. Fang was Renhuai city's party secretary.

Longer hours for hospital

The First People's Hospital of Guiyang will start a "365-day outpatient service" from today, the Guiyang Evening News reports. The hospital, which used to open for only half-days on weekends, will lengthen its weekend operating hours till evening. The service is aimed at accommodating people who work long hours and students who attend school on weekdays and thus have no time to seek medical attention for their ailments until the weekends.

HEBEI

Official admits affair

Dong Yufa, deputy director of the province's development and reform commission, has admitted to having improper relations outside of his marriage, the Beijing Times reports. Photos of Dong getting dressed and screenshots of his text messages to an unknown woman recently surfaced online. In the messages, Dong asked to have sex with the woman at least once a month and for a condom to be used each time.

Pay as you pollute

The government will start collecting pollution fees for construction dust from this month, the municipal environmental protection bureau has announced. According to Xinhua, the cost of treating polluting dust is pegged at about 3 yuan per kilogram of dust. Construction sites will be rated on a scale of good, qualified or disqualified. Public rental housing, disaster relief, emergency rescue and residential renovation sites are exempted from the fee.

HUBEI

Rumour sparks sales

A car salesman has been detained for 10 days for spreading rumours to sell cars, Chutian Metropolis Daily reports. Shortly after visiting the salesman's dealership, many Wuhan residents received a text message claiming that the city government would start limiting car licence plates. The salesman also told a resident that if the measure was not announced by March 6, the resident could have his car deposit money back.

Who gets the last laugh?

A 19-year-old college student who was lucky enough to "grab" eight hefty red packets from WeChat games was hospitalised after he laughed too hard over his good fortune, the Wuhan Evening News reports. The young man had grabbed seven red packets, each containing more than 100 yuan. Upon finding out that his eighth red packet had over 500 yuan, he was thrilled and started laughing uncontrollably. Just then, he felt a sudden intense pain in his stomach. He was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with an incarcerated hernia exacerbated by laughing.

SHANGHAI

Stealing from the gods

A 33-year-old man has been detained for stealing an iPhone and cash from Buddhist monks, Shanghai Daily reports. The man was detained over the Lunar New Year after he was accused of donning Buddhist robes and stealing an iPhone and 1,000 yuan from Donglin Temple while the monks were busy. He has previously been jailed twice for stealing from temples.

Peeping Tom arrested

A man has been detained for peeping at women in a public toilet, Shanghai Daily reports. The man was caught peeping over a partition between two bathroom stalls at the Huangxing Park subway station. He said he did so as he was angry that he had lost money gambling.

SICHUAN

Drughouse busted

Deyang police have detained a man and 12 accomplices for making and selling drugs, Chengdu Economic Daily reports. The man had rented a flat for his illicit trade. Police found five Tibetan mastiffs guarding its entrance, and seized guns and more than 500 grams of methamphetamine from the apartment.

Five dead in two crashes

Two separate vehicle collisions in Sichuan have left five people dead and four injured, China News Service reports. According to the Sichuan provincial safety supervision bureau, a sedan and an SUV crashed near a highway, resulting in three deaths and two injured. Barely 100 metres away, a van and a truck collided, resulting in another two deaths.