Quirky China: unconscious man ‘wakes’ for curry, women-only carriages ‘unfair to men’, manhole covers stolen, sold to get hostess cash
- A police officer’s meal of curry beef with rice was too tempting for a suspected fraudster who had faked being in a coma
- A women-only train carriage suggestion has been rejected because it would be ‘discriminatory to men’
A police suspect who pretended to be unconscious for three days and endured a series of medical tests eventually “woke up” because he could not resist the smell of beef curry.
The man was arrested by police in Xiaogan of Hubei earlier this month on suspicion of fraud, local police said on WeChat.
To avoid investigation, he pretended to faint. Police officers tried to wake him up but were unable to rouse the man, so they sent him to hospital believing he was ill.
Doctors tried various methods to “wake him up” including pressing on pressure points, inserting a catheter, and electrocardiogram, but he still managed to maintain his fake coma.
On the fourth day the man finally woke up when he smelt the beef curry a police officer was eating by his bedside.
“Upon opening the lunchbox, the dish’s strong smell spread all over the room,” said the officer in a video clip posted on WeChat. “Then he started moving his head and slowly got up.”
The suspect admitted that it was the food that prompted him to give up the ruse. “I have been fainting for three days and I am clearly aware that since I haven’t eaten for three days, I am hungry,” he said in the video.