ANHUI

Five held over drugs

Hefei police caught five people at 1am on Sunday, including minors, who were allegedly found to be taking drugs and stealing electric bicycles, People.com.cn [1] reports. Among the suspects were a 22-year-old man and his 11-year-old brother, who was believed to be involved in the crimes.

Free care for disabled

About 10,000 low-income people with disabilities in Hefei are entitled to receive free surgery and rehabilitation services this year, the Xinan Evening News reports, citing the municipal association for disabled people. Additionally, about 7,000 residents with mental disabilities will get a 500 yuan (HK$620) subsidy for medicine this year.

BEIJING

Ire over online dairy ban

The municipal commerce bureau has been inundated with complaints over a recent food-safety proposal calling for a ban on selling dairy products online, and now the ban may not be put into effect, People.com.cn [1] reports. The amended rules were posted on Friday for public feedback, with many people saying they want to buy imported dairy products because domestic brands have had a poor safety record.

Sabah trips cancelled

Tour agencies in the city have cancelled trips to Sabah, Malaysia, scheduled for this month, because of a recent shoot-out in the region between Malaysian troops and an armed Filipino group, the Beijing Times reports. The cancellations came despite a notice on the website of Sabah's tourism board saying the region was safe. A travel ban had not been issued on Sabah.

GUANGDONG

Vice-mayor disciplined

The former vice-mayor of Yingde , who is also chief of the city's public security bureau, was recently disciplined for dereliction of duty, in connection with a truck explosion in August that killed 10 people and injured 20 others, the Yangcheng Evening News reports. The truck was hauling legal explosives, but the official was found to have not managed the explosives well enough. He is also under investigation for "serious economic problems".

Cash for 'miracle' baby

There has been an outpouring of emotional and financial support in Shaoguan for a three-month-old boy who was born about three months prematurely and weighing just 1.5kg, the Nanfang Daily reports. Local media reported that the boy's 33-year-old mother, who died last month, was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer five months into her pregnancy, and doctors urged her a month later to abort the child. But he lived and his unemployed father said treatment would cost about 80,000 yuan a year.

GUIZHOU

Men held over sex cards

Two 20-year-old men were ordered detained for three days this week after police caught them distributing contact cards for prostitutes, at a hotel in Guiyang , www.gog.com [2] cn reports. The men said they were at an internet bar when a middle-aged man offered them each 50 yuan to distribute 75 cards in hotel rooms.

Cabbies chip into fund

The province's first fund dedicated to helping taxi drivers in need was set up in Guiyang this week, www.gog.com.cn [3] reports. Cabbies must contribute between one and 10 yuan to the fund to be eligible to receive up to 20,000 yuan if they suffer a serious illness or are injured in an accident.

HAINAN

Bar owner must pay again

The owner of a karaoke bar in Lingshui county must pay 136,000 yuan in compensation to the parents of a 17-year-old female employee who was electrocuted to death while bathing in her dormitory, where the bar's staff members live, the Hainan Special Zone News reports. A faulty water heater was blamed. The owner had paid the family 15,000 yuan for cremation, but the court ruled that he was liable to pay more.

Exchange deal struck

Tianjin's Nankai University recently signed an agreement to work as a think tank for the nation's youngest municipality, Sansha , and will soon begin on a development strategy for the city, the Hainan Daily reports. Sansha is also encouraging PhD candidates and faculty members to work in government offices for a few months.

HUBEI

Thanks for all the visitors

An 85-year-old man at a nursing home in Hongshan district, Wuhan , thanked people who came to visit him yesterday for "Learn from Lei Feng Day", which promotes selflessness and caring for others, but he asked people to spread out their visits so everyone comes on a different day, Xinhuanet.com [4] reports. The nursing home said elderly residents complained about too many loud visitors.

Hole opens up near project

A large hole measuring four metres deep and 25 square metres wide opened up near a subway construction project in Wuhan on Monday. No injuries were reported in the incident, according to Xinhuanet.com [4] reports. The construction firm said there was no link between the hole and the project because no workers were present at the time of the incident.

JIANGSU

Report due on expired jabs

Disciplinary inspection authorities say findings will be released tomorrow in a case involving 130 police officers in Changzhou's Wujin district who received expired measles vaccinations, Chinanews.com [5] reports. Local health authorities said no officers had shown any abnormal symptoms since getting the injections on Friday. Under mainland law, officials and departments in charge of vaccine distribution may only be reprimanded if the expired vaccines do not pose a health risk.

Man killed wife over affair

A man appeared in court in Wujin district, Changzhou, this week for allegedly killing his wife in January because he thought she was having an affair and colluding with the man to kill him, Chinanews.com [5] reports. The husband was diagnosed as a schizophrenic and was being treated at a psychiatric hospital last year until he ran out of money and was discharged. Prosecutors said he bludgeoned his wife to death and then tried to set himself on fire, but was stopped when police arrived.

LIAONING

Dip in text messages

There were 24.1 billion text messages sent by China Mobile users across the province last year, about 7.3 per cent fewer than in 2011, the Shenyang Evening News reports. The provincial telecommunications bureau attributed the decrease to the economic downturn and the emergence of other communication tools such as microblogs. The number of cellphone users in the province last year reached 42.9 million - twice as many as five years ago.

Firm silent on heating

Officials in Fuxin and those overseeing the municipal branch of the state-owned China Power Investment Corporation have refused an interview request from journalists at Xinhuanet.com [4] on the city's centralised heating being off for about 50,000 households for 10 days, the news website reports. Residents said the heating had been poor in previous winters because of shoddy heating equipment, but now it was off completely and people say their electricity bills have doubled as they must use electric heaters to stay warm.