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STAFF

Anhui
Hepatitis C from dialysis
At least nine patients have contracted hepatitis C after receiving dialysis in a hospital in Huainan , while another 21 are still being tested for the virus, xinhuanet.com reports. Seventy-five dialysis patients were exposed to hepatitis C, which can cause serious liver damage. The public health bureau is investigating the cases.
Suspended death sentence
A farmer in Anqing who murdered two people and dismembered their bodies was given a suspended death sentenced by the Intermediate People's Court, anhuinews.com reports. After divorcing in December 2011, Wang Zhenggen decided to kill his ex-wife and practised by killing others. He took two homeless people to his home on May 10 and electrocuted them, before dismembering and burning the bodies.
Beijing
Deadly heaters still in use
About 100,000 gas-fired water heaters similar to the one that led to the deaths of five university students from carbon monoxide poisoning this week are still being used in Beijing, the Beijing Youth Daily reports. The deadly gas leaked from an outdated type of heater that was banned 13 years ago, the municipal government said.  The Beijing News said the five students, found dead in their rented Chaoyang district flat on Monday had been burning coal inside with no ventilation
Weather bad for fireworks
Beijing Meteorological Bureau forecasts do not show any days during the Lunar New Year holiday suitable for fireworks, the Beijing Morning Post reports. No strong winds are expected, so the weather will not be ideal for dispersing pollutants, and residents have been advised to cut back on fireworks.
Fujian
Islets put up for rent
Organisations and individuals can now apply to rent 532 uninhabited islets in Fujian for up to 50 years, the People's Daily reports. The islets are categorised according to their functions: tourism, transport, industrial and urban development, fishing, forestry, developing renewable energies or providing public services. Applicants must submit development plans and feasibility studies.
Fugitive caught 12 years on
A fugitive was arrested at his home in Jinjiang on Thursday after 12 years on the run, China News Service reports. The 34-year-old killed a person in November 2001 before fleeing to Guangdong, where he married and had a child. He returned home to see his parents before the holidays thinking the police would not find him.
Gansu
92 homes burn down
Ninety-two homes were burned down in a fire in a village in Gannan prefecture on Wednesday, Xinhua reports. The fire was brought under control 24 hours after it started. No casualties were reported but 420 villagers affected. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Drop in fireworks sales
Sales of fireworks have dropped in Lanzhou compared to the last Lunar New Year, the Gansu Daily reports. One shop owner expects a 25 per cent drop in sales because fewer people are using public funds to buy fireworks amid moves to rein in government extravagance.
Guangdong
Police bust illegal storage
Security authorities in Zhongshan busted an illegal fireworks storeroom on Thursday, the Nanfang Daily reports. Police found about a tonne of firecrackers and fireworks in a 50-square metre shop, without any fire-control facilities. Police said if they had exploded, the six-story building could have been destroyed.
Examiners turn in cash
Thirty-nine driving test examiners in Zhanjiang turned in more than 21 million yuan (HK$25.6 million) in kickbacks to the Communist Party's discipline inspection committee, the Guangzhou Daily reports. Another three examiners fled. An examiner usually receives between 100 yuan and 300 yuan from each candidate, adding up to several thousand yuan every day.
Henan
Arrested after five years
A man was arrested by Anyang police on Wednesday after five years on the run, the Anyang Evening News reports. He stabbed a man to death in April 2008 and fled to Guangdong, where he got a fake identity card under another name. The man returned to Anyang with his girlfriend, who is four months' pregnant, but revealed his identity after getting drunk.
Graft drive nabs hundreds
Henan prosecutors say the province has detained 93 senior and 864 lower-level officials for graft since 2008, the China Youth Daily reports, with 13,366 people investigated in 9,861 cases. The people's procuratorate said it responded to more than half the tip-offs it received.
Hubei
Car gift for migrant worker
Yu Tianjun, a migrant worker at a construction company in Wuhan , received 118,000 yuan and an SUV worth 350,000 yuan as a year-end bonus, the Wuhan Morning Post reports. About 80 colleagues also got bonuses of between 10,000 and 100,000 yuan from their boss, a former migrant worker.
Jail for delaying salaries
The owner of an interior design company has been jailed for three years by a district court in Huanggang for delaying salary payments to more than 170 employees, the Chutian Metropolis Daily reports. He was also fined 50,000 yuan. Since 2011, he refused to pay 404,000 yuan in salaries to his workers, who petitioned the authorities.
Shanghai
3 million tourists expected
Local tourism authorities say Shanghai is expecting more than 3 million visitors for the Lunar New Year holiday, similar to last year, the Dongfang Daily reports. The city was voted most popular Spring Festival destination in a poll by the China Tourism Academy, beating Beijing and Guangzhou.
Experts to check 'quake'
Shanghai's earthquake administration says experts will look into an alleged quake on Thursday in the city's Lujiazui area, the Shanghai Evening Post reports. Office workers in high-rise buildings in the area felt a strong shake around 11.30am on Thursday and were evacuated to the ground floor. However, no earthquake was detected.
Zhejiang
Official 'had many affairs'
A former Shangyu city official has been detained for economic problems and having affairs with many women, the Qianjiang Evening News reports. He was scammed out of 100,000 yuan after receiving a threat to expose his affairs, even though a photo he received as evidence was fake. Police arrested the swindler but looked into the official because they wondered why he paid up.
Embezzler sentenced
Ying Guoquan, a former director at a state-owned company, was given a suspended death sentence by the Zhejiang Higher People's Court for graft, embezzlement and misappropriating assets, the Economic Information Daily reports. Ying's company used a name almost identical to the state-owned company, and cheated it out of businesses. He made illegal profits of more than 370 million yuan in seven years.
 


China Digest, February 9, 2013

News

China

At least nine patients have contracted hepatitis C after receiving dialysis in a hospital in Huainan , while another 21 are still being tested for the virus, xinhuanet.com reports. Seventy-five dialysis patients were exposed to hepatitis C, which can cause serious liver damage.
