GUANGDONG

Death for doctor-killer

A man was sentenced to death in Dongguan on Saturday for killing one doctor and seriously injuring another, the Yangcheng Evening News reports. The man received treatment for facial paralysis early last year, but when he did not see any improvement, he blamed his doctor, stabbing him to death at Changan Hospital in August. The attacker injured the second doctor while leaving the hospital. The court also ordered the man to pay a total of 540,000 yuan in compensation.

Uni delay for 12-year-old

A 12-year-old boy from Maoming, who was admitted to study mathematics at Guangzhou University, has asked that his admission be pushed back a year, so he can learn how to take care of himself, the New Express reports. The boy and his mother applied on Saturday for the delayed entry, which the university approved. His mother said she would teach him how to live independently.

HEBEI

Gas leak blamed for blast

A large explosion that burned four cars and damaged surrounding building and trees on Saturday in Shijiazhuang was attributed to a leaking natural gas pipe underground, Xinhua reports. No one was injured. Witnesses said they heard the explosion at 1.50pm and saw a hole in the road with smoke coming out. The flames were said to have reached several storeys in height before being extinguished. 

Police shoot hostage-taker

A police sniper shot dead a man who held a knife to a young villager’s neck and demanded money from the boy’s family on Thursday afternoon in Renqiu city, the Yanzhao Metropolis Daily reports. The  man, who was not a local, was  holding a villager’s son hostage at the family’s home. While he was distracted, a sniper shot him.

HENAN

School repays break fees

A middle school in Luoyang refunded the 40 yuan it charged students over five months in exchange for letting them stay at the school, which is in a remote area, during their noon break every day, rather than having to leave, the China Youth Daily reports. The No 55 Middle School was charging students 8 yuan a month for the privilege. A total of 321 students paid the fee, but the school came under fire when details of the scheme were posted online. On Friday, the principal said students were charged because school officials misinterpreted a government document.

Youngster in driving seat

A 12-year-old boy drove a minivan hundreds of kilometres on a highway from Hebei province before he was stopped by police in Zhengzhou on Friday, the Zhengzhou Evening Post reports. The boy’s father bought the minivan two months ago, although he did not have a driving licence. He wanted to bring his brother to Zhengzhou for an eye operation, but lost his nerve on the highway and showed his son how to drive. The family had been on the road four days before being stopped.

HUBEI

Mum wants to say thanks

A mother is looking for two Good Samaritans who saved her two-year-old boy from falling out of a window in Wuhan on Saturday, the Chutian Metropolis Daily reports. One man stood on top of another man to reach the boy, who had climbed out the kitchen window of the first-floor apartment. The mother, who was running errands, left her 13-year-old daughter to care for the boy, but the girl fell asleep. The two men left afterwards without leaving their names.

School supplies on way

Authorities in Macheng vowed to equip all schools in the county-level city with desks and chairs within two months, after media reported that rural students were forced to bring their own furniture to school every term, Xinhua reports. Officials said nine million yuan would be spent on the furnishings. Local officials and Communist Party members were also asked to donate money for the cause.

JIANGSU

‘Trousers’ fail to sell

The developer of the Gate of the Orient – a 68-storey skyscraper that is under construction in Suzhou’s central business district – denied rumours the building would not be completed because of lack of funding, The Southern Metropolis News reports. The developer said on its microblog that fewer than half of the serviced apartments in one part of the building had been sold, and only 38 out of 341 apartments in another part had been sold. The building has been heavily criticised for looking like a pair of trousers.

One way to get service

A bank in Nanjing is under fire for refusing to offer timely help to a man who lost 10,000 yuan in an ATM machine while trying to make a deposit on Friday night. When the man called the bank’s customer service number and reported the failed transaction, he was told he needed to wait two working days. He then called police, but they could not help. So, the clever man used a different phone to report that the same machine had given him 3,000 yuan more than it should have. Within five minutes, someone from the bank arrived. 

ZHEJIANG

Life is worth living after all

A suicidal 28-year-old man who jumped into the East China Sea from a bridge in Hangzhou late on Tuesday night had a change of heart while in the water and ended up swimming and being carried by the tide to a small island in Jiaxing city, more than a dozen kilometres away, the Qianjiang Evening Post reports. He jumped from the Hangzhou Bay Bridge after his wife left him, he lost his job and he gambled away more than 10,000 yuan. After making it to the island, he rested for a few hours, and on Wednesday morning he attempted to swim to safety. He was saved by fishermen along the way.

Boasting leads to fine

A Jinhua man, who bragged on his identity-verified microblog account about how he avoided a police checkpoint looking for drink drivers, found himself busted about 12 hours later, Zjol.com.cn reports. The man made the post early on Friday morning, saying, “How smart I was to pull the car over and walk. There were traffic police.” It included a picture of the police checking cars. The post was widely circulated, and some people even warned him  about bragging. Others reported him to police. He was fined 1,900 yuan and lost his driving licence for six months.