China Digest, September 20, 2012
BEIJING
Woman 'killed for phone'
A 22-year-old man appeared in a Beijing intermediate court on Tuesday, charged with killing a woman on April 8 to get money to buy a mobile phone, the Beijing Morning Post reports. The man allegedly stabbed the woman before strangling her. No verdict had been reached in the case.
Hospital attack on doctor
Dongcheng district police have detained two men who allegedly attacked an ophthalmologist at Tongren Hospital on Monday, www.qianlong.com.cn reports. The doctor's injuries required 20 stitches. The motive was unclear but the suspects appeared to be drunk. Two guards were also injured. A year ago, two doctors at the hospital were attacked by a knife-wielding patient.
GUANGDONG
Sars hero jailed for graft
A Foshan doctor who was widely praised for her treatment of the first batch of Sars patients in 2003 was sentenced to 10 years in jail on Monday for taking more than 500,000 yuan in bribes connected to medical procurement bids between 2003 and February 2011, Guangzhou Daily reports. Dr Luo Hongtao, 55, was detained in July last year.
Parents bar autistic boy
A mother's repeated attempts to enrol her 15-year-old autistic son in a Shenzhen primary school have failed, the New Express reports. A teacher told her that parents of 19 out of 45 students in the grade five class signed a petition asking that the boy not be admitted because they believed his presence would have an adverse effect on their children. The boy's unmarried mother, a nurse, said her son does well academically and is good at playing the piano.
HAINAN
Rubbish tip gets up noses
Residents in Haikou are angry that authorities have done nothing about a growing rubbish pile on a 50-square-metre plot of land, Hainan.net reports. Residents say they must keep their windows closed at all times because of the foul smell. An environmental protection official said a developer owned the land and was responsible for cleaning up the waste.
Projects for Sansha
Four key infrastructure projects, including three related to environmental protection, kicked off recently in Sansha - a city established less than two months ago to oversee two disputed island chains and an undersea atoll, Hainan Daily reports. The environmental projects cover waste-water treatment, refuse collection and transportation, and coastline repairs. The fourth project is to build two patrol ships for the disputed areas.
HENAN
Jail for negligent husband
A man in Miyang county, Zhumadian , was jailed for six years for failing to stop his schizophrenic wife committing suicide in May, People.com.cn reports. The court found that the wife told her husband several times that she wanted to die. In May, she drank a lethal dose of pesticide as her husband slept.
A bit over budget
The party boss of a town in Xinyang is under scrutiny for the construction of a lavish township government office building, Xinhuanet.com reports. Disciplinary authorities said Zhao Zhiyang allocated more than 30 million yuan (HK$37 million) for the office building, after municipal authorities approved only 9.6 million yuan for the project.
JIANGXI
Temple under fire
Controversial photos showing beggars being kept behind bars near a Taoist festival in Xinjian county, Nanchang , on Saturday have sparked heated debate online, The Beijing News reports. Festival organisers said the beggars were forced to stay behind a 50-metre-long iron barricade so they wouldn't bother visitors to the Taoist temple, but county authorities claimed the arrangement was to prevent a stampede, as many beggars were elderly or disabled.
Tunnel workers rescued
Sixteen workers were rescued on Tuesday, 44 hours after they were trapped when an expressway tunnel under construction collapsed in Longnan county, Ganzhou Jxnews.com.cn reports.
SHANDONG
Man caught after 13 years
Qingdao police recently caught a murder suspect who had been on the run for 13 years, the Qingdao Morning Post reports. The man and his elder brother were suspects in the 1999 stabbing death of a villager in Linyi city who the men believed had looked at one of their wives. The elder brother was caught soon after the killing. The younger man caught the attention of police recently as he was living a secluded life and seldom interacted with others.
Blitz on pyramid scheme
More than 5,300 people were detained in the province last year for suspected involvement in pyramid schemes worth a total of more than 6.3 billion yuan, the Qilu Evening News reports, citing a provincial-level security meeting on Tuesday to discuss the schemes. Police said 70 per cent of the schemes targeted unwitting investors at online shopping websites.
SHANGHAI
Flat owners incited riot
Two owners of apartments in a residential complex in Qingpu district have received a nine-month jail sentence, suspended for one year, for inciting a riot involving dozens of other property owners, who caused extensive damage at the office of the property firm that had sold them their apartments. The men rallied the other owners in April after the firm slashed prices of unsold apartments and refused to give refunds to initial buyers who paid much more, the Shanghai Youth Daily reports.
Contact lenses seized
Songjiang district police recently busted a workshop found to be illegally making coloured contact lens, China National Radio reports. More than 1.8 million lens were seized, and police estimated their street value at 61 million yuan.
SICHUAN
Sibling 'ransom' bid
A 13-year-old boy was found by police in Bazhong last week after being "kidnapped" by his 15-year-old sister, who called their mother and demanded 20,000 yuan in ransom. She pretended to be an older man and threatened to kill the boy if the ransom wasn't paid, the West China City Daily reports. The girl said she needed the money to open a small business. Police released both children into their parents' custody.
Suspect sausages
A total of 38 pupils at a primary school in Hejiang county, Luzhou , were admitted to hospital after eating ham sausages at the school on Tuesday morning, the Western Economic Daily reports.