A resident of Shiyan, Hubei province, who transferred his phone calls to the mayor's hotline, causing the system to crash, was fined 200 yuan ($30) recently.

Liu, a travel agent, said he transferred his calls to the mayor because the local urban construction supervision authorities constantly phoned him about certain rules he had violated.

Liu said the constant phone calls had taken a toll on him.

Telephone operators at the mayor's office received a plethora of phone calls meant for Liu on Sept 6, causing the system to crash for 7 minutes.

Liu's boss at the travel agency had to submit a written apology to the mayor's office.

(Changjiang Times)

(China Daily 09/20/2010 page7)