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Mandy Zuo

GUANGDONG
Sour Christmas
Cartons of milk given as Christmas gifts to some kindergarten children in Shenzhen were found to have expired days earlier, the Southern Metropolis News reports. The milk was manufactured on June 17 with an expiration date of six months. The school principal blamed the manufacturer, saying that the box was stamped with an October production date. But the supplier, Shanghai’s Bright Dairy, said the batch had no quality issues. 
Child car seats ‘unsafe’
Five batches of imported child safety seats have failed random safety inspection tests, the Southern Daily reports. All of the seats, made in France and the Netherlands, had serious quality issues that meant the items could not restrain children effectively during accidents, the report said.
 
HEILONGJIANG
Oilfield to cut output
The Daqing oilfield, which produces a quarter of the country’s inland oil, will slash output by 1.5 million tonnes in the new year. The cuts follow a long period of overexploitation amid rising costs and falling global oil prices, Xinhua reports. Daqing’s output accounted for 90 per cent of Heilongjiang’s energy industry by value, and the cuts are expected to cut the province’s gross domestic product by more than 20 billion yuan (HK$25 billion) next year. 
Man hurt in gas blast
A man in Harbin was seriously injured after a gas tank exploded in his kitchen on Saturday night, Dbw.cn reports. The blast wrecked his ground-floor flat and broke the windows of many neighbours’ flats, but there were no other casualties.
 
HUBEI
On the run for 18 years
A suspected murderer who evaded police for 18 years has been captured in Lichuan, Xinzhou.org reports. The 43-year-old farmer from Yuanping, Shanxi, was wanted over the killing of two women and the attempted kidnapping of another in his hometown in June, 1996. He tried to abduct a villager’s wife but ended up stabbing the villager’s mother and sister when they confronted him.
Postgrad student decline
The number of students taking exams to qualify for postgraduate studies continued to fall this year after dropping last year for the first time, the Chutian Metropolis Daily reports. Some 101,000 candidates across the province are taking the exams that started yesterday, a slight drop of 0.07 per cent from last year. Interest in domestic postgraduate studies has fallen around the nation due to tuition costs and job prospects.
 
HUNAN
Undone by luxury belt
An official in Rucheng county is being investigated for “serious violation of party discipline and the law” after a photo of him wearing a Louis Vuitton belt went viral online, Xinhua reports. An online post in March raised questions about how the general manager of the county’s state-owned water and electricity company could afford such an accessory. The revelation soon attracted the attention of the local party discipline watchdog, which responded by reviewing the official’s finances.
Lucky escape
A driver walked away with only a few broken teeth after his car struck an overpass ramp pylon and rolled onto a side road in Changsha on Saturday, the Xiaoxiang Morning Post reports. The white Mazda hit a passing car before landing upside down. The driver, in his 30s, climbed out of the vehicle by himself, witnesses said. The passing car was struck on the left side but no one was hurt.
 
JIANGSU
Boy falls 10 floors
A four-year-old boy is fighting for his life after falling from his 10th floor home in Yangzhou on Saturday, the Modern Express reports. The flat was being renovated and had no balcony window. He fell when his family turned away briefly. Doctors said the boy’s heavily padded winter clothing probably saved his life but he was still in critical condition.
Death for drug runner
A 46-year-old Japanese man has been sentenced to death in Nantong for drug trafficking, the Yangtse Evening News reports. The man, part of a trafficking ring that smuggled drugs from Shandong  to Japan, was caught in March last year with 8kg of the drug Ice. He plans to appeal.
 
SHANGHAI
Cruises to nowhere
Two “no-destination” cruises will go on trial runs next month from Shanghai’s North Bund, Eastday.com reports. The one- and two-night trips will be on HNA Tourism’s cruise ship Henna, which can accommodate 1,965 passengers. The organisers said the trips suited families because they only lasted one weekend.
Aged give tickets the flick
Shanghai’s elderly have largely declined an offer for “preferential” film ticket prices offered to them in mid-November, the Wenhui Daily reports. So far the city’s 106 cinemas have sold only 5,000 of the tickets, which are available to Shanghai residents aged over 60 for screenings before 6pm, Monday to Friday. But many elderly have balked at the 35 yuan ticket price, saying their children could find them cheaper tickets online.
 
SICHUAN
Credit card cheats
A couple who applied for 120 credit cards which they used to run up an overdraft before fleeing to Malaysia have been caught and sent back to Chengdu, the Sichuan Daily reports. The couple applied for the cards in 2011 and withdrew 22 million yuan in cash before escaping to Malaysia in June last year. 
Leniency for parents
A woman in Hongya county has received a suspended jail sentence and her husband exempted from criminal liability for killing their abusive son, the West China City Daily reports. The 25-year-old son beat up the couple more than 10 times in April, apparently for no reason. One day when the son came towards the mother after slapping the father, she grabbed a stick and struck him across the head.
 
ZHEJIANG
Boar kills hunter
An experienced hunter is believed to have been killed by a trapped boar on a mountain in Yiwu, the Qianjiang Evening News reports. The man, a professional boar hunter in his 50s, did not return home after going out early on Friday morning for a routine check of the traps he had set. Rescuers found his body near a caught boar that was still alive. The authorities ruled out foul play, saying he died of internal injuries after he was butted by the animal and suffered a serious fall.
Hot water bottle explodes
A young woman in Hangzhou suffered severe facial injuries after an electric hot-water bottle, a popular warming device in southern China, exploded while it was charging, the Qianjiang Evening News reports. The woman said the device, which she bought three days earlier, blew up when she was about to unplug it on Tuesday. She remains in hospital with burns to her body as well as other injuries to her face. The manufacturer, an electric appliance maker in Fuyang, is paying her medical bills and offered 1,300 yuan in compensation.
 


Exploding electric hot-water bottle maims woman

A young woman in Zhejiang, above, picture before and after she was severely injured when an electric hot-water bottle exploded as she unplugged it from the wall socket. FULL STORY BELOW. Photo: SCMP Pictures

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Also:  Boy, 4, critical after falling 10 floors; Boar kills hunter
