Chinese men set field ablaze for fun ... then pose for photos
Pair’s actions strongly criticised by police and fire services
Two Chinese men who posed for pictures after deliberately setting a field ablaze have been criticised by the police and fire services.
One of the men posted the pictures on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter, on Saturday, the news website Guancha.cn reported.
The man, who did not give his real name but said he was from Suzhou in Anhui province, wrote: “Went up the mountain to start a fire. We are two 30-year-old men.”
Some of the shots also showed the men burning straw and stoking the fire using dried branches.
Hours after the photographs were posted, China’s fire service shared the post on its Weibo account, saying: “[You’re] already 30 years old. Don’t you know starting fires is illegal?”
The message was swiftly shared by two Anhui police Weibo accounts, as well as by many other internet users.
The man who posted the pictures had deleted his account on Weibo by Monday morning.
The website report did not say if the police were investigating the incident.
The annual Lunar New Year festival is a busy time for the fire services as it is traditional in China to light firecrackers and fireworks during the holiday period.
Starting a fire that threatens public safety can lead to a three to 10-year jail term in China.
