China Digest : 23th March 2015

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Around the nation, March 23, 2015

PUBLISHED : Sunday, 22 March, 2015, 11:57pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 22 March, 2015, 11:58pm

Traffic backs up on a Kunming highway. Photo: kunming.cn

Yunnan

Highway confusion

Thousands of people were stuck in massive traffic jams on Saturday morning as the highway linking Kunming and Songming closed for its first day of reconstruction works, Kunming.cn reports. Drivers said there was confusion as there were no signs about how to bypass the closed highway. The reconstruction project is expected to be completed on June 20, the authorities said.

Bungling burglar

A burglar who swam across a river to rob a home in a high-end gated community in Kunming was arrested after he left behind his float, Xinhua reports. The man had bumped into the owner of the house while making his escape, and in his hurry, forgot to take his float. Because he could not swim, he could not make his way back across the river. Police found him hiding near the riverbank.

Chongqing

Vandals' calling card

A pair of eight-year-olds has been caught vandalising a row of cars parked on a street in Nanbin township by using stones to etch their names into the paint, the Chongqing Economic Herald reports. Police received complaints from seven drivers whose cars were badly scratched, and officers quickly tracked down the young offenders, who said they found it fun signing their names on the vehicles. Their parents will compensate the car owners.

Foul feet come to a head

A woman from Dazu district threw a vase at her husband's head after he refused to wash his feet before going to bed, the Chongqing Morning Post reports. Neighbours who heard the noise feared domestic violence and called the police to look into the din. The woman told officers she had thrown the vase at her husband in a fit of rage during a brawl and that it accidentally hit his head, causing him minor injuries.

Fujian

Pupils used as footrest

A high school in Nanan has fired a part-time teacher who forced two pupils to be his footrest as punishment, the Strait City Daily reports. The incident came to light after a photo of the deed was posted online. It showed the teacher using his smartphone in class, with his feet propped up on the backs of the pupils who had been forced to kneel on the floor.

Infant 'raped by relative'

A six-month-old baby in Nanping was allegedly raped by a relative during her father's wedding ceremony, The Mirror reports. The man had offered to keep an eye on the infant while her father greeted the guests, but when she was returned to the father an hour later, she was hoarse from crying and her genitals were covered in blood. The father reported the matter to police and officers arrested the relative.

Guangdong

Cafe quarrel turns fatal

Guangzhou police have detained a man who confessed to stabbing to death a man sitting beside him in an internet cafe, Xinhua reports. The man told police he lost his temper after the pair had an argument, and he went and bought a knife from a nearby grocery store, which he then used to stab the other man in the neck. He fled the scene but was caught soon after.

Near-miss collapse

A six-storey residential building in Tan village that was about to be torn down collapsed just moments before the demolition work could begin, the Information Times reports. Residents had already moved out so no injuries were reported, but the debris crushed several parked cars and stopped just metres short of another residential building. Workers said the building's steel structures might have given way after rusting badly in the rain.

Hubei

Plastic surgery goes awry

A young woman is in a critical condition in Wuhan after suffering a heart attack while undergoing an operation for breast implants overseas, Cnhubei.com reports. The 25-year-old had travelled to South Korea for the procedure this month and experienced sudden cardiac arrest shortly after anaesthesia was administered. Her parents chartered a plane to bring her back to a local hospital for treatment.

Nightmare date

A woman working for a matchmaking agency in Hanyang was kidnapped by two male clients and robbed of 200,000 yuan (HK$253,000), Cnhuibei.com reports. The clients had earlier told the agency that they wanted to date a wealthy woman, and discovered by chance that the employee had recently received 400,000 yuan compensation for the demolition of her house. One of the men then asked her out, and during the date, the other man helped force her into a car. The duo then drove her to Jiangxi and forced her to withdraw 20,000 yuan - the daily ATM limit - from her bank account each day. She was freed only after 10 days and she reported the matter to police, who detained the suspects and are investigating.

Hunan

Raging oxen

A farmer from Banshan village near Liling suffered seven fractured ribs and spinal injuries after he was attacked by his oxen, Voc.com.cn reports. Witnesses said the man was gored by about 10 oxen after he hit one of them with a shovel. Others tried to drive the raging animals away but to no avail. The man may suffer permanent paralysis of his legs. His family said they would kill the ox that started the attack.

Worm in woman's brain

A woman who suffered from frequent epilepsy had a white 10cm-long worm removed from her brain in Changsha , the Hunan Daily reports. The 24-year-old underwent a medical examination recently, and after doctors questioned her, she revealed that she once ate a live frog when she was a child because elderly people in her village believed that consuming the amphibians live was a cure for rheumatism. She said she found the practice was harmless and ate one for fun.

Jiangsu

Dead baby found in river

A cleaner got the shock of his life when he found the body of a newborn baby in a river in Nanjing , the Yangtse Evening Post reports. He said he had picked up a green plastic bag from the water and found the baby girl in it, wrapped in a piece of white cloth. The child appeared to have died shortly after birth. Police are investigating her death.

Nursing home death

A court in Wuxi has found a nursing home partly responsible for the death of an old man with dementia and ordered it to compensate his family 270,000 yuan, the Yangtse Evening Post reports. The man had gone missing twice in a month after his family sent him to the home. The second time, he escaped through a fire exit in the building and was found drowned in a nearby river.

Jilin

Robbing the wife

A broke and jobless man in Jilin city posed as an old woman to rob his wife after she refused to give him some cash, the Xin Wen Hua Bao reports. The man stabbed his wife in the hand and took her purse. But finding that her robber sounded like her husband, the wife later reported the matter to the police. The man admitted to the deed but insisted that robbing his own wife was not a crime.

Saved after five days

A man miraculously survived being trapped for five days in a 20-metre-deep manhole, the Xin Wen Hua Bao reports. The 46-year-old had fallen into the open manhole while walking along a highway one night. He tried to keep his upper body above the freezing water in the hole and called for help whenever he heard cars passing by. A garbage collector eventually found him on the fifth morning. He had to undergo a skin graft as his legs had developed necrosis.

 

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Around the nation: Chinese DIY inventor searches for investors to help finish submarine

Du Xiutang, 53, of Shenmu county, in Shaanxi province, who has been granted three Chinese patents on his inventions, has spent 300,000 yuan on his submarine, but is 200,000 yuan in debt

PUBLISHED : Monday, 23 March, 2015, 9:55pm
UPDATED : Monday, 23 March, 2015, 9:55pm

Angela Meng [email protected]

Du Xiutang, 53, with his 300,000 yuan home-made submarine, which he says needs new investment if it is to set sail... and submerge ... as intended. Photo: SCMP Pictures

SHAANXI

DIY submariner eyes funds

Shenmu county inventor Du Xiutang, 53, who has spent 300,000 yuan building his own submarine, is looking for new investors, news website Hsw.cn reports. Du has always been fascinated by machinery and technology, but had to quit his second-year studies at secondary school and start work as a farmer when his family could not pay his fees. Since 2005 he has studied submarine design by himself. He was granted three national patents after inventing a submarine hydraulic drainage system and steering propulsion technology, Hsw.cn reported. But he said that as he was 200,000 yuan in debt, he needed new investors to help him complete his sub.

Truck fire investigated

A large semi-trailer truck burst into flames at about 9pm on Sunday in Xianyang, Shaanxi province, the Shaanxi Broadcasting Corporation reports. Firefighters battled to contain the blaze. It is not known if there were any casualties, and the cause of the fire is still being investigated.

FUJIAN

Blast risk after confusion

Police and firefighters were able to avert a blast at a Xiamen factory at noon on Sunday despite first being sent to the wrong factory 3km away, Xinhua reports. A fire started at a food plant with many flammable oxygen and acetylene tanks. But a caller mixed up the pronunciation of the words “hu” and “fu”, so sent emergency services to a different place. The firefighters saw smoke in the distance and arrived in time at the right factory.

Highway pedestrian killed

A pedestrian died instantly at about 2pm yesterday after being hit by a car while trying to cross the busy Shenhai Expressway bridge in Xiamen, China News Service reports. The car driver said he had no time to brake to avoid hitting the man.

GUANGDONG

Rafter set to drift again

A man, aged 41, from Zhuhai, plans to become the first man to drift down the Yellow River in a raft, the Modern Express reports. The adventurer has spent the past eight years travelling on mainland waterways in a rubber raft, including 64 days last year on the Pearl River. He plans to set off on his 10-month trip along the Yellow River on May 1.

Lives of 89 dogs saved

Animal rights activists helped to rescue 89 dogs that were due to be slaughtered in Shenzhen, China.org.cn reports. The activists staged a 36-hour sit-in to secure the release of the dogs, which were to have been killed for their meat at a slaughterhouse that reportedly had no permit for such work.

HEILONGJIANG

Motor home from home

An elderly retired couple from Harbin, in Heilongjiang province, have spent more than 11 years travelling the country in a custom-built 1.2 million yuan (HK$1.5 million) motor home, news website Youth.cn reports. Han Shigui and Shi Shuzhi started their travels in 2003 and have stayed in more than 50 places. Hainan province was their favourite destination, they said.

Homeless man assaulted

Two drunk men from Harbin allegedly beat up a homeless man to “release tension”, the Modern Express newspaper reports. The victim, Li Yongwu, who was found by police covered in blood and unable to walk, was taken to hospital, but later disappeared. Li was sleeping in a small room with ATM machines at a China Merchants Bank branch when he was attacked. The suspects, who were arrested, reportedly told police they did not know Li. They decided to attack him while they were drunk to help them release tension, the report said.

INNER MONGOLIA

Blind masseur honoured

A blind man has been honoured by Inner Mongolian officials after helping almost 2,000 disabled people find jobs, news portal Nmgcb.com.cn reports. Feng Fa, from Chifeng, who lost his sight when he was in the fifth grade, opened his own massage parlour in 1996. He later opened a massage school to train other disabled and unemployed workers for free. In the past decade, Feng has taught more than 2,000 students, most of whom have found work or started their own businesses.

Boost for entrepreneurs

In an effort to promote entrepreneurship, university graduates in the region are being offered loans of up to 500,000 yuan (HK$631,000) to help them to set up their own businesses, Xinhua reports. Authorities in Inner Mongolia have also held classes on entrepreneurship, business management training, analysis and research. Budding university entrepreneurs have also been offered advice on project development and risk assessment, according to the report.

LIAONING

Drug gang suspects held

Police have detained 28 suspected drug dealers in northeast China’s Liaoning province, Xinhua reports. Investigations began in November when police began tracking the movements of the alleged gang in Dandong. They allegedly bought drugs in Heilongjiang and Guangdong provinces. Police then reportedly seized 5kg of methamphetamine, which was linked to the gang, in Shenzhen on January 13.

Cheering fans go silent

Basketball fans cheered so much for home side Liaoning during game six of the Chinese Basketball Association finals on Sunday that they litreally lost their voices, news website Hilizi.com reports. Defending champions Beijing retained their title with a 106-98 win for an unbeatable 4-2 lead in the best-of-seven contest. In the last five minutes, as Liaoning’s chances faded, home fans made themselves hoarse shouting, “I love Liaoning!” while the game announcer lost his voice after continuously shouting “Liaoning, add oil!”.

YUNNAN

Insecticide ‘murder’ arrest

A woman from Fuyuan county has been arrested on suspicion of murder after reportedly pouring insecticide down her seven-year-old stepson’s throat, the Yunnan Daily reports. The boy died soon afterwards. She had reportedly been due to finalise her divorce from her second husband that day, but became angry after he rang to tell her he could not attend.

Hotel price cap

The Yunnan government has put a price cap on hotel room charges in the province to help the many refugees arriving from neighbouring Myanmar, the Beijing Youth Daily reports. About 60,000 Myanmar residents have fled across the border into China over the past two weeks since fighting increased between the Myanmese military and rebel forces. Room prices have risen sharply to 200 yuan per night.

ZHEJIANG

‘Masked’ woman held

A woman aged 34 allegedly used five fake WeChat social media accounts – including one suggesting she was a beautiful 20-something policewoman – to obtain money from a would-be suitor, the Modern Gold Express reports. She was detained by police after she wore a mask to meet the suitor and refused to remove it.

Factory collapse search

Rescue workers are searching for two people who are believed to be trapped under rubble after a factory collapsed without warning yesterday in Ningbo, China News Service reports, One person was rescued after the collapse, which is now being investigated by officials.