China Scene: North

Embezzler given leave to attend mother's funeral

A man convicted of embezzling public funds and sentenced to jail for 12 years last week was allowed to pay his last respects to his mother, without wearing handcuffs, on Sunday.

His 83-year-old mother was reportedly so shocked by her son's sentence she died soon after hearing about it.

The convict surnamed Di pleaded with the court to attend the funeral. Court officials agreed, even though allowances are not usually made in such cases.

(Beijing News)

Meteor shower turns out to have terrestrial origin

A young Beijing man got so drunk during the Spring Festival holiday that he threw stones at cars and broke at least seven windscreens.

Some drivers of the cars mistook the stones for a meteor shower and called police to investigate.

Police thought the trouble was likely terrestrial and eventually found the 23-year-old man surnamed Li just 10 m from the road, with a pile of stones gathered beside him. He is currently in prison.

(Beijing Times)

Rich living lands pets in the hands of vets

Pet owners in Harbin have been flocking to veterinarians after the Spring Festival holiday on account of their pets overeating.

The Heilongjiang province dogs and cats mostly had intestinal problems, a vet said. At least 10 animals a day were treated, twice the number before the holiday period.

(Heilongjiang Morning Post)

Woman cries wolf to get back boyfriend

A woman at a karaoke parlor in Dalian appealed for help from security guards on Thursday, Valentine's Day, claiming a man exiting the building was a thief.

The guards, in Liaoning province, caught the man but found he was the woman's boyfriend.

It turned out the woman surnamed Xu had been drinking and boasted of having an affair to her boyfriend surnamed Mu.

Angered by what she had said Mu rushed out of the karaoke parlor and Xu cried wolf in an attempt to get him back.

(New Business)

Holiday happiness leads to fatal motorbike crash

A man surnamed Yang who partied with friends over the Spring Festival holiday died after attempting to ride home on his motorbike.

He crashed into a tree in Changchun, Jilin province, on Thursday, and was rushed to hospital but had a serious skull fracture and died.

"This was not the only fatal accident caused by overdrinking during the Spring Festival," police said, urging people not to drink and drive.

(East Asia Economy and Trade News)

Cops help mentally disabled man home

A 20-year-old mentally disabled man who was lost in Beijing for eight days has been reunited with his family.

The man surnamed Xie lives in a rented house on the outskirts of Beijing with his sister, a migrant worker. He got lost Feb 6, on the eve of Spring Festival.

Police found him and they eventually managed to determine where he lived, even though he had problems communicating. His sister burst into tears when she went to pick him up at the police station.

(Beijing Evening News)

(China Daily 02/20/2008 page6)