Around the nation: irate shopper sets mall ablaze
Also, passenger held over seat row and woman's throat slit in Shenzhen
PUBLISHED : Friday, 19 December, 2014, 6:36pm
UPDATED : Friday, 19 December, 2014, 6:41pm
Firefighters battle a blaze at the Guoqin Department Store in Dongguan. Photo: Xinhua
Anhui
‘Haunted’ house
The family of a man who got a girl from Bozhou pregnant tried to scare her away from their village house by pretending to be ghosts at night, the news website Hf365.com reports. The boyfriend broke off contact after she told him she was three months’ pregnant. She went to the family’s home, discovered no one inside and decided to wait for him. At night, she would hear knocking sounds at the door but no one was outside. The power and water were later turned off. She learned the family had fled and were trying to scare her away to avoid responsibility for the child.
Bare foot air passenger
A passenger has been detained after getting into a row with a cabin crew member aboard a China Southern flight from Hefei to Guangzhou in Guangdong, People.com.cn reports. The man had a ticket for economy class but moved into an empty seat in premium class. He took off his shoes and put his bare feet against the back of the seat in front of him. When the flight attendant approached, he got into a verbal fight and grabbed her by the arm. Police detained the passenger when the flight landed.
Beijing
Fire from smoking in bed
A woman accidently set fire to her apartment in the Dongcheng district while smoking in bed on Wednesday, the Beijing Times reports. She said she was ill and didn’t notice the burning smell until smoke was rising from her sheet. She fled and called firefighters, who put out the fire before it spread to other flats.
Guangdong
Woman’s throat slit
A 17-year-old migrant worker from Shenzhen died after a man attacked her and slit her throat with a knife on Tuesday night, Guangdong Television reports. She was walking home with her aunt after work when the assailant suddenly grabbed her by the neck. The aunt said she ran to a busy road to find help and when she returned the victim was lying in a pool of blood. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Surveillance video showed the attacker had been following them since the victim left work. The police are investigating.
Shopper sets fire to store
An irate man burned down a department store in Dongguan on Thursday because he couldn’t return items he had purchased several month ago, the Southern Metropolis News reports. The arsonist broke in through the back door of the Guoqin Department Store, and security guards said he threatened them with a knife. He set fire to clothes and towels on the first floor, they said. The blaze engulfed the second floor and neighbouring stores. It took more than 100 firefighters seven hours to extinguish the blaze. The man was arrested by the police at the scene.
Hebei
Sex service scam
A couple from Shijiangzhuang was arrested on Thursday for allegedly swindled 30 men out of a total of 50,000 yuan (HK$63,160) they paid in advance for sex, the Yanzhao Evening News reports. Victims said they received leaflets offering the service and when they called the number listed were told to deposit money into a bank account, after which a sex worker would contact them. After making the transfer, nothing happened and repeated calls to the number were ignored. The police raided the couple’s apartment and seized stacks of leaflets and 27 bank cards. The couple said they expected the victims wouldn’t contact the authorities out of fear their families would find out.
Hunan
Trucker drives with torch
A truck driver was busted by the traffic police for using a torch to illuminate the Zhanghua Highway at night because all his headlights were broken, Changsha Evening News reports. Police stopped the truck, which was travelling at about 20km/h in the early hours of Wednesday. The driver said he had failed to fix the headlights and decided to use the flashlight because he was racing a delivery deadline. The truck was loaded with a shipment of firecrackers. The driver was fined and the case handed over to the local police.
Persistence pays off
A man from Zhuzhou won 8.29 million yuan on Thursday using his “lucky” numbers – the birth date of a family member, news website Voc.com.cn reports. The man had played the same set of numbers for a decade and said persistence was the key.
Jiangxi
Marriage status fee
A man in Duchang county expressed surprise when the local civil affairs bureau charged him 20 yuan to print out his personal details proving he was single, news website Jxnews.com.cn reports. The bureau said the fee had been approved by the commodity price bureau. Cities including Nanchang and Jiujiang have waived the fee for issuing such information.
Student goes missing
Police are searching for a student at Nanchang Hangkong University who has been missing since Monday, news website Jxnews.com.cn reports. The student was last seen leaving his dormitory wearing slippers on his way out to dinner. His roommates looked for him the next day at an internet café where he often spent the night and when he wasn’t there, they contacted the authorities. Surveillance video showed he left the campus at around 5pm. The police discovered he has failed several courses and were investigating.
Shaanxi
Two male flight attendants got into a row with the owner of a restaurant in Yulin after one of them ripped their pants on a nail in a chair, Shaanxi Television reports. They told the owner they were air traffic police and demanded 2,700 yuan in compensation. When he offered them only 1,000 yuan, they tried to steal a bottle of Chinese liquor. Police were called and the flight attendants threatened to file complaint with the officers’ supervisors if they missed their flight. They were both detained.
Sichuan
Principal hurts pupil
The headmaster of a primary school in Rong County was sacked after he scratched a pupil’s face with a pen, the Chengdu Business Herald reports. The principal said he had received complaints the boy was being noisy in his dorm at night and used the pen to poke his face as a warning. He didn’t realise the cap was off, and scratched the pupil’s face. His parents were given 8,000 yuan in compensation.
Jail for imposter
A woman from Chengdu has been sentenced to 14½ years in jail for posing as the wife of a senior executive at Wuliangye, a famous Chinese liquor company, and swindling more than 10 people out of 1.4 million yuan, news site Scol.com.cn reports. The woman sought bribes in exchange for posts at the company and deals to buy the liquor at a discounted price. Investigators also discovered she had swindled two men from Hebei of 21,900 yuan in March.
