Around China

Guangxi

Best man sleeps with bride

A man who had sex with a bride on her wedding night after she confused him for the groom has been acquitted of rape by a court in Guigang. The adulterer, surnamed Ruan, was best man at a wedding and stayed at the bridegroom's home for the night after the ceremony. After the bride, surnamed Huang, went to the toilet at about 2 am, she accidentally returned to the wrong room and got into bed with Ruan, the court heard. The two had sex, with Huang apparently not realizing who Ruan was until the morning.

Huanqiu.com

Chongqing

'Landmine meal' scalds diner

A woman in Shapingba has been paid 500 yuan ($72) compensation by a restaurant after she was scalded by a promotional item dubbed the "landmine meal". The food was part of a marketing gimmick and came in a dish shaped like a landmine, which opened once the attached "fuse" was lit. Inside was hot soup, which splashed out and injured the woman, surnamed Chen. The restaurant agreed to compensate Chen after a police investigation found the "landmine" device to be defective and unsafe.

Chongqing Morning Post

Room escape game goes wrong

An 8-year-old boy panicked and called the police when he was unable to complete a physical adventure game he was playing in the city's Sanxi Square. The boy was playing an escape room game, which involves players being locked in a room filled with puzzles that they must solve in order to escape. He and his two friends had been given a walkie-talkie to contact staff if they got into difficulties, but no one answered their distress call when they failed to escape the room so the boy called the police hotline instead.

Cqnews.cn

Child tries to drive father's van

A 7-year-old boy almost ran over a street vendor near a busy shopping center after starting his father's parked van. The boy, who had been left in the van on his own with the keys, had learned how to operate the vehicle by watching his father. He turned the key in the ignition and released the parking brake, sending the van lurching toward the vendor, who had to jump out of the way. No one was injured in the incident, although the van was damaged.

Chongqing Commercial Daily

Jiangsu

Bather becomes theft victim

A woman in Taizhou has been detained on suspicion of transferring 4.9 million yuan ($710,000) out of her friend's bank account without permission. The 34-year-old, surnamed Jiang, is accused of using a bank card belonging to the victim, surnamed Zhu, to transfer the money while he was taking a bath. Zhu suspected Jiang was behind the theft because he said he never let his bank card out of his sight, except while bathing. Police said Jiang confessed to stealing the money to pay her debts, adding that she will be referred for prosecution.

Modern Express Daily

Torch sparks toilet confusion

A woman in Zhenjiang reported a man to the police on March 12 because she thought he was taking pictures of her on the toilet. She accused the man of voyeurism after spotting him using the flash on his mobile phone. He explained that he was using the light as a torch, but the woman was not satisfied until police intervened and told the man to let the woman check his phone. She did and, upon finding no incriminating evidence, agreed to drop the issue.

Modern Express Daily

Hubei

Retiree obsesses over mahjong

A 90-year-old man in Hankou has become so obsessed with playing mahjong that the first thing he asked doctors after waking from surgery was when he could play again. The man, surnamed Zhao, was sent to hospital after becoming faint while playing the tile-based game earlier this week. He learned how to play mahjong about three years ago and now plays every day, sometimes for up to eight hours at a time.

Changjiang Daily

Tianjin

Anxious child runs away from home

A 12-year-old girl ran away from home after learning that her parents wanted to have a second child. The girl took a bus to Tongzhou in Beijing from Tianjin, but was stopped by an officer and taken to a police substation. She told police that she was worried her parents would not love her if they had a second child. The officers comforted her and contacted her parents to let them know she was safe, before making arrangements for her to return home.

Legal Evening News