 China Scene: North
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-09-12 07:44 Traffic cop nabbed for driving fatality A traffic policeman in Jilin city, Jilin province, will stand trial for negligent homicide after he killed the driver of a three-wheel motorcar while driving drunk. After drinking with friends, Zhao Binglin ran into the motorcar while driving home in a borrowed minivan. He did not stop but continued to drive, dragging the motorcar driver behind for 400 m until the man died. Seven of Zhao's direct superiors will also to be punished for lack of oversight, police said. (East Asia Economy and Trade News) Robber survives falldown seven stories To elude his pursuers, a robber jumped down from a seven-story building in Tianjin municipality last Saturday. He lived, thanks to an electrical wire that broke his fall. Police nevertheless rushed him to a hospital for multiple fractures. The man had robbed a woman of her handbag inside the building. When she cried for help, people nearby began chasing him until he was cornered on top of the building. (news.sohu.com) Thief turns self in to marry girlfriend After three years on the lam, a Beijing farmer turned himself in to police so that he can marry his girlfriend. The farmer, Hua, from the Changping district, stole a bankbook with 1,000 yuan ($146) in it from his neighbor in 2005. To avoid being caught, he left home and lived by doing odd jobs elsewhere. Hua surrendered to police because he wanted to marry his girlfriend, whom he had wooed for five years. Last week, he began serving a seven-month jail sentence for larceny. (Beijing Times) Beer-soaked airlinepassenger arrested Police took a disruptive airline passenger into custody on Sunday after a flight from Chengdu to Beijing touched down at Beijing Capital International Airport. The passenger, surnamed Zheng, asked a flight attendant to serve him more beer after downing two cans. When she refused, Zheng harassed her and followed her into the first-class cabin. He had to be restrained by force. Zheng sobered up after he was brought to the police station for questioning. (Beijing Times) Lovesick burglar arrested on 'date' Police in Baoding, Hebei province, entrapped a burglar surnamed Li when he tried to date a young woman whom he had robbed days earlier. Li burglarized the young woman's dorm on Aug 14 while she and her roommates were sleeping. He woke her up, and forced her to give him her phone number at knifepoint before escaping. A few days later, he called the woman for a date. Recognizing his voice, she called police who sent a female officer to meet him on Aug 30 at a cafe on where he was arrested. (Yanzhao Metropolis Daily) Viper in city center caught with tear gas Firefighters had to use tear gas to bring a 1-m-long viper under control last Saturday on a downtown street in Jilin city, Jilin province. A passerby named Liu heard an unusual hissing sound around noon and was surprised to see a viper crossing the road. As it was moving toward a 4-year-old girl, he and other pedestrians drove it under a minibus. Liu then called firefighters who caught the viper and handed it over to the local zoo. The most dangerous snake in Northeast China, vipers are rarely been seen in populated areas these days. (news.sohu.com) Kidnapper releases boy with similar history The kidnapper of an 8-year-old boy was sentenced to three years in jail on Sunday in Yunmeng county, Hubei province, after he released the boy with whom he shared a similar childhood history. Surnamed Xiao, the kidnapper let the boy go after learning that he also came from a broken home. Xiao kidnapped the boy on April 27 and had asked the boy's grandmother to pay 30,000 yuan ($4,400) in ransom. After learning that the boy lived with his grandmother because his parents were divorced, Xiao released the boy. He even telephoned the grandmother to check if he had gotten home. Xiao's father and mother had also separated when he was a child. The next day police launched an investigation and arrested Xiao. (Changjiang Commercial News) Still climbing trees in his ninth decade A villager in Fuping county, Hebei province, is so used to climbing trees that he is still doing it at 89 years old as a means to keep fit. Born in 1919, Gu Quanxi developed his tree-climbing habit during childhood when his family was so poor that he picked leaves for mixing with potatoes for food. Today, he still climbs a 20-m-high walnut tree in his backyard with ease. Last Friday as his father demonstrated his tree climbing skill, Gu's 60-year-old son could only watch from below. (Yanzhao Metropolis Daily) (China Daily 09/12/2008 page5) |
