Around the nation: Chinese museums ban the use of selfie sticks to protect artefacts
Also, hostage-taker drops knife and falls to his knees after change of heart, and angry wife kills hubby who refused to pay for dinner
PUBLISHED : Monday, 16 March, 2015, 8:41pm
UPDATED : Monday, 16 March, 2015, 8:41pm
A Chinese woman uses a selfie stick to snap a picture of herself near the portrait of Mao Zedong in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Photo: EPA
HUBEI
Selfie sticks banned
Several museums in Wuhan have banned selfie sticks as they pose a threat to the preservation of museum objects and may disturb other visitors, the China News Service reports. The museums, including the Hubei Museum of Art, now prohibit the selfie stick as well as tripods and monopods from being used during tours in the buildings. Those who go against the rules will be stopped at security checks.
Gullible man scammed
A 22-year-old man allowed himself to be cheated of 13,000 yuan even after police and his parents warned him that he might have fallen for a lottery scam, Hsdcw.com reports. The man had found the lottery scratch cards on the ground while shopping, and when he scratched them, they revealed that he had "won" 400,000 yuan and directed him to a website with instructions for him to pay 13,000 yuan before he could receive the reward. His parents warned him that it might be a scam and alerted the police, who also persuaded him not to wire the money over, but he did so anyway. He realised he had been duped only after the "lottery" asked for more money.
ANHUI
Jail for raping girl
A Ningguo court has sentenced a man to four years in jail for raping a minor, Anhuinews.com reports. The man had rented a room from the 14-year-old girl's parents, and when she was at home alone early last year, he made her perform lewd sexual acts. In June, he repeated his offences and in August, further emboldened, he forced himself on her.
Deadly driving
A nervous driver's mistake left one person dead in Lujiang county, Ahscb.com reports. The motorist, 45, who had obtained his licence only in September, was driving his Audi when an approaching minibus made him nervous, causing him to turn his wheel in the wrong direction. The resulting collision left one dead and 13 injured.
GUANGDONG
From knife to knees
An alleged drug abuser who took a stranger hostage to escape arrest, knelt down to beg the woman's forgiveness after police persuasion caused him to have a change of heart, Qtv.com.cn reports. CCTV footage showed the man holding the middle-aged woman at knifepoint in a convenience store in Shenzhen's Longgang district as his wife tried to make him let her go. His attitude softened, however, after police negotiated with him, and he eventually dropped the weapon, got down on his knees and apologised to his hostage.
Pupils 'poisoned'
More than 20 pupils came down with severe food poisoning after a meal at a social gathering in Huicheng district, the Southern Metropolis News reports. The pupils started having diarrhoea and vomiting profusely after lunch and were taken to hospital. Investigations into food hygiene are ongoing.
GUANGXI
Angry wife kills hubby
A woman stabbed her husband to death in Yulin after he refused to pay for a dinner, the China News Service reports. When police found the man, he had stab wounds on his body but his clothes were not damaged, indicating that someone had dressed him after he was attacked. His wife eventually admitted that she had killed him after he refused to pay for a dinner that she wanted to host with her friends.
Father-like figure
Thousands of pupils and their parents joined a parade on Sunday to honour the late Mo Zhengao, former principal of a county high school in Guangxi , the Southern Metropolis News reports. Mo died on March 9 after a long struggle with illness. His pupils and their parents, from a wide range of ethnic groups, mourned their "headmaster father".
GUIZHOU
Robbers team up
CCTV footage has revealed the modus operandi of a pair of robbers, Qtv.com.cn reports. The duo would follow their victim and pounce on him together, beating him up and making off with his valuables before changing out of their clothes and donning glasses to avoid being recognised and getting caught. Last month, they robbed two men of an iPhone 5S and a Samsung phone.
Consumers appeased
The provincial consumer protection association settled 94.9 per cent of the complaints it received last year, saving consumers more than 12 million yuan (HK$15 million), China National Radio reports. The agency resolved 2,885 of the 3,040 complaints it received. The province also held activities to mark World Consumer Rights Day and to raise consumers' awareness of their rights.
JIANGSU
Turning to drugs
Police have arrested the manager of a small business in Nanjing for abusing drugs, Nanjing Daily reports. The man who was under tremendous pressure and became depressed after his business began to decline, turned to using drugs and playing with fake firearms to distract him from his troubles. Police apprehended the man, who is in his 30s, at his home and seized 10 grams of the drug Ice and two imitation guns that they found there. His urine also tested positive for drugs, the report said.
Fancy a cup of ketamine?
The Nanjing Intermediate People's Court handed a life sentence to a drug trafficker who had tried to pass his ketamine powder off as coffee and even offered police officers a cup of it, Nanjing Daily reports. The 30-year-old Guangdong man was in the middle of a transaction in a hotel room when police burst in to arrest him for possession of two bags of white powder weighing 8kg in all. He initially insisted that the powder was coffee, until test results showed that they were definitely drugs, the report said.
SHANGHAI
Serial burglars arrested
Police have arrested three men suspected of robbing several homes in the Xuhui and Minhang districts, Shanghai Daily reports. The trio allegedly broke into 10 homes and made their getaways in a BMW vehicle. They allegedly made off with 350,000 yuan in gold and cash from just one home.
Railway rule-changer
A blind woman who threatened a lawsuit after staff at a train station refused to let her guide dog on a train, has prompted the China Railway Corporation to amend its rules, Shanghai Daily reports. The company said it would soon allow visually impaired passengers to take their dogs on its trains. The woman's situation sparked heated discussion among internet users after her story was posted online.
ZHEJIANG
Counterfeit cosmetics
Police have detained a couple for selling fake cosmetics to buyers in Africa and the Middle East, the Modern Gold Express reports. More than 180,000 items were seized from the couple's shops, including fake Vaseline gel and fake Sensodyne toothpaste. The pair reportedly made a killing from the illicit sales and the woman is said to have bought cars worth at least 4 million yuan from their profits.
Hunt for missing boy
Thousands of people in a village in Zhejiang joined a massive manhunt for a three-year-old boy, the Qianjiang Evening News reports. The child went missing on Thursday night and had not been seen since, the report said. There has been speculation that he might have been kidnapped, and investigations are ongoing.
