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Around China: Frogs drove woman to despair

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-07-14 07:54

1 SHANDONG

Husband turns wife into police

A group of habitual robbers based in Shandong province was captured after the police were alerted to their activities by the spouse of one of their members, Qilu Evening News reported on Tuesday.

The police received a report detailing the group's criminal activities in a letter written by the husband of a 26-year-old woman, surnamed Li.

The 52-year-old husband said he felt frustrated that his wife continued to rob despite his repeated efforts to persuade her to stop. The turning point finally came after his wife robbed her brother-in-law.

2 HUNAN

Man held for 'revenge killing'

A man, surnamed Chen, in Linwu, Hunan province, was arrested for allegedly killing his brother-in-law in revenge for his wife running away, Legal Weekly newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Chen placed a bottled drink containing rat poison in the pannier of his brother-in-law's motorcycle on June 7. The latter was later found dead after drinking the poisoned beverage.

Suspecting the cause of her son's death, the victim's mother fed the drink to a chick and a duck, both of which died shortly afterwards. She then reported the case to the police.

Chen is currently under criminal detention.

Student served tainted burger

A high school student in Changsha, capital of Hunan province, received 1,000 yuan ($148) in compensation from a McDonald's franchise for being served a burger containing a piece of paper, the local Sanxiang Metropolis Daily reported on Tuesday.

The student, Jia Jia, found the paper with both printed and handwritten characters on it in a grilled chicken burger on July 11 while she was eating with her niece at a local McDonald's on Bayi Road.

The restaurant manager apologized and agreed to pay compensation after the student's mother reported the incident to the media.

3 HENAN

Pensioner fatally injures roommate

A 70-year-old half-paralyzed woman, who beat her roommate to death at a nursing home, said she felt jealous that the 90-year-old had more visitors and received better care, information portal dahe.cn reported on Tuesday.

The suspect, surnamed Liu, was found smashing her roommate's head with a brick on June 6 at a nursing home in Luoyang, Henan province. The injured roommate died later in hospital.

Accounting for her actions, Liu said she felt bitter that her family, who live in another city, Sanmenxia, was unable to visit frequently and that her paralyzed roommate received more attention from nurses at the home.

4 ZHEJIANG

Frogs drove woman to despair

A 60-year-old woman in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang, was hiring people to kill frogs in a residential community pond, because they made "unbearable" noise at night, which disturbed her sleep, the local Dushi Express News reported on Tuesday.

For every frog killed, she paid 10 yuan ($1.5) as a reward and 2 yuan for every tadpole.

According to the property manager, the woman, surnamed Chen, had called their office for weeks to complain about the frogs. It had been suggested to her that she throw stones at the frogs to scare them off. When this proved to be an ineffective deterrent, Chen took the matter into her own hands.

5 SHAANXI

Two gunmen seized, one still at large

Police seized two allegedly armed robbery suspects in a residential building in Xi'an at around 6:30 pm on Tuesday. Witness said there could be a third suspect hiding in a nearby building, local broadcaster Shaanxi television reported.

The three suspects allegedly robbed a shop at about 3 pm and then escaped into the two residential buildings. Witnesses said they were equipped with firearms, knifes and possibly explosives.

No casualties were reported as of 9:30 pm.

Family sparks child trafficking scare

Passengers on a long-distance bus mistook four adults taking three infants on a journey as a child trafficking gang until police stopped the bus and discovered they were a family.

The online chat platform of Huashang Daily received an urgent note on Monday afternoon saying that there were four people, speaking different dialects, taking three babies on a bus from Xi'an to Danfeng. The netizen suspected that the people were a gang of child traffickers.

The newspaper reported the matter to Danfeng police, but the party turned out to be four relatives of a family who were returning home with the newborn triplets.

6 BEIJING

Ageing Chinese number 19 million

The number of Chinese in their 80s or older approached 19 million at the end of last year and will annually grow by 1 million, according to a report issued on Tuesday by the China National Committee on Ageing.

The elderly population, which refers to people aged 60 and above, increased last year by 7.25 million to 167.14 million, or 12.5 percent of the total population of China.

According to the organization, a campaign will be launched in October to raise awareness of the country's ageing population.

World Cup saves lives

A total of 367 accidents attributed to drunk driving occurred during the month-long World Cup period in China, down 38 percent from the same period last year, according to figures released by China's Public Security Ministry on Tuesday.

The accidents killed 157 people and injured 428, both down 42 percent, said the ministry.

Auditors catch violators

About 16 billion yuan ($2.3 billion) has been saved from, or returned to, public funds in the first half of this year thanks to auditors across the country, the National Audit Office said on Tuesday.

A total of 323 cases of violations involving 503 people had been transferred to judicial authorities, the office said.

Good drivers get 10-year license

Foreigners who obtained driving licenses in China after May 1, 2004 and have not had 12 points deducted during the past six years can apply for a license with 10-year validity, Beijing Evening News reported on Tuesday.

According to China's traffic laws, driving licenses are valid for six years, ten years and long term. If a driver has not had 12 points deducted during the six-year period, they can apply for a license valid for 10 years. The regulation applies to both Chinese and foreign drivers, the newspaper quoted Shen Yuhui, an official from Beijing vehicle administration bureau, as saying.

7 HUBEI

Swimmer aims to make splash

Zhang Jie, a 23-year-old student at Beijing Sport University, will attempt to continuously swim a distance of 50 km in the Qingjiang River, organizers said on Tuesday.The effort is estimated to take 24 hours. If Zhang succeeds, she will break a Guinness World Record.

The 423-km-long Qingjiang River is a tributary of the Yangtze River.

(China Daily 07/14/2010 page5)