Beijing bites

Tourists flock to Beijing

The number of inbound tourists in Beijing in September climbed to 407,000, a 24.8 percent increase over the same period last year, the Beijing Bureau of Statistics said yesterday. It is the highest number of tourists to visit this year. From July 2009, the number of inbound tourists in Beijing has been increasing and the total number was more than 3 million from January to September, a 4.9 percent increase on the same period last year.

More than 119 million Chinese and foreign visitors traveled in 187 scenic spots in Beijing and spent 3.16 billion yuan ($463 million).

Agent charged over scam

An account manager at Guosen Securities, a major brokerage firm in China, has been charged with stealing 120,000 yuan from customers, the Beijing Morning Post reported yesterday.

The man surnamed Guo found personal information relating to 2 customers on his company's internal website, prosecutors said. He later found out that the last 6 digits of their ID number were the pins to their accounts.

It's alleged Guo set up a new account for himself, selling stocks in his account at a lower price and buying them at a higher price in two of the customers' accounts. From Dec 29 to 30, Guo allegedly earned more than 120,000 yuan.

Man goes to court for stabbing

A man, who stabbed five men at a supermarket in Haidian two years ago, appeared at Fengtai district court yesterday.

The man, surnamed Jiang, quarreled with another man, surnamed Shan, and started a fight. Later, four of Shan's friends arrived. All of them were stabbed by Jiang. Jiang claimed he did not bring the knife but grabbed it from Shan's party. The court has yet to deliver a verdict.

Taxi service quality improving

A customer satisfaction survey of Beijing's taxi industry for the third quarter of this year revealed a score of 93.82, slightly higher than the same period last year. This news came from the Beijing Statistics Consulting Center yesterday. Taxi invoices were the most unsatisfactory point of the survey, with the public complaining that drivers usually refuse to provide them. The survey covered 138 taxi companies.

Woman steals during interview

A woman, who stole personal objects by giving facials to potential employers, has been charged by Chaoyang prosecutors, the Beijing Evening News reported yesterday. The woman, surnamed Yu, entered a beauty salon on May 7 and pretended to look for a job. She persuaded the salon boss to allow her to prove her cosmetic skills by giving a facial. Yu then removed the boss's necklace, earrings, ring and watch. After covering the boss's face with a towel, Yu said she had to answer a call and left with the goods. It was reported Yu has used the same trick several times, stealing valuables worth more than 21,000 yuan.

"Gunman" arrested

A man surnamed Wang who threatened waiters at a KTV in Fengtai district with an air gun was arrested by police, the Beijing News reported yesterday. An employee at the KTV said Wang lost his wallet in the KTV last Friday and broke a desk in the room. Wang then allegedly called his friends to bring the air gun to the KTV. Police arrested Wang and found two air guns as well as hundreds of steel balls in Wang's house.

Social networking site sued

Kaixin001.com, one of the biggest social networking websites in China, is suing ChinaInterActive, another networking service provider, for copyright infringement, the Beijing News reported yesterday.

Kaixin001.com said it registered the domain name and the trademark Kaixin in March 2008. But three months later, ChinaInterActive had also launched kaixin.com, which used the same Chinese name and launched similar network services. Kaixin001.com said they lost customers to second "Kaixin" and demanded 10 million yuan as compensation. But ChinaInterActive claimed that they were not operating kaixin.com now, and shouldn't be responsible for the lawsuit.

(China Daily 10/28/2009 page26)