China Scene: North

Gambler turns planter to resist the urge

A 52-year-old from Hohhot, the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, has gone to extreme lengths to kick his gambling habit.

Sun Heping gambled for years but hated the addiction so much that he lopped off one of his fingers seven years ago.

Since then, he's lived on a hill near Hohhot and overcomes his urge to gamble by planting fruit trees.

He's planted more than 80,000 trees over the years, and some have already begun to bear fruit.

(Inner Mongolia Daily)

Extra pounds thwart mugger's getaway

A man surnamed Xue was found guilty of robbery on Wednesday after his getaway was hampered by his excess weight.

Xue and an accomplice beat Wang and stole his mobile phone and 1,600 yuan ($227) in cash, near a cemetery in Beijing's Daxing district last December.

The two tried to flee the scene, but Wang gave chase when he realized Xue was too overweight to get away quickly. He caught Xue and managed to subdue him.

(Beijing Evening News)

Cops unimpressed by reckless rail stunt

Police reprimanded a 26-year-old man who jumped onto a section of rail track as a train was approaching in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, on Wednesday.

Police officers rushed to push the man clear of the train, thinking he was trying to commit suicide.

But when the officers tried to counsel the man, surnamed Fang, he laughed. Fang said he was trying to test his reaction speed and build up his courage by putting himself in a dangerous situation.

The police officers reprimanded Fang for risking his life and let him go.

(Harbin Daily)

Firebug in jail after setting shanty blazes

An arsonist was sentenced to six years in jail on Tuesday for setting fire to his neighbors' shanties in Harbin, Heilongjiang province.

The man, surnamed Yu, set fire to a small restaurant on June 23, 2007, and then helped to extinguish the blaze. Yu owed the restaurant owner 100 yuan ($14). To thank him, the owner canceled his debt.

Yu started another six fires the next day. He lit the fires in six rooms belonging to four families living in his shanty town. The fires spread to 40 rooms in the community and Yu again appeared to help extinguish the flames.

He was treated as a hero until his arson was uncovered.

(Heilongjiang Morning Post)

Chef fortunate to have lost wallet near honest workers

A chef from Manzhouli, a city in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, recovered a wallet containing 5,000 yuan ($710) in cash before he even realized it was missing.

Xin Rongfa, the chef, had lost the wallet on Monday night, but he did not know what had happened until he received a call from a migrant worker couple on Tuesday.

Xin seems to have lost the wallet as he was driving home on a motorbike. The workers, surnamed Ma, found the owner's phone number on a receipt inside the wallet and called him to explain what had happened.

(www.xinhuanet.com)

(China Daily 03/26/2008 page6)