Around the nation: Two killed on tour bus in Yunnan
Beijing
Teachers accused of abuse
Two kindergarten teachers are being investigated by police for suspected abuse of a pupil after the boy's mother found bruises on him, the Beijing Times reports. The mother contacted Tongzhou district police after seeing surveillance video allegedly showing the teachers kicking and slapping the five-year-old boy, the Times said. The kindergarten issued an apology and has fired the teachers.
Wrong medical diagnosis
A hospital has been ordered to pay a woman 63,000 yuan (HK$79,370) in compensation for misdiagnosing her with cancer, the Legal Evening News reports. The publicly run Xuanwu Hospital, affiliated with the Capital Medical University, told the woman she had late-stage ovarian cancer but she was actually suffering from tuberculosis.
Heilongjiang
Wild tiger kills horse
A wild Siberian tiger killed a horse on a breeding farm on the outskirts of Mudanjiang city, news portal Dbw.cn reports. A breeder said he found the four-year-old mare with one of its legs missing on Tuesday. Forestry officials tested hair and urine samples and confirmed they belonged to the endangered animal.
No jail over fatal accident
A driver has been given a three-year jail sentence, suspended for five years, for killing one person and injuring another in Jixi city, Xinhua reports. The driver hit an electric bike carrying the two people on a rainy night in August, 2013, and fled the scene. Police tracked him down a year later. He was given a lenient sentence after paying compensation.
Hubei
4m yuan in illegal loans
A 27-year-old man has been jailed for 13 years and fined 200,000 yuan for illegally using heavy machinery owned by his employer as collateral for loans, the Chutian Metropolitan News reports. The man worked for an engineering company and took out nearly 4 million yuan in loans on the back of eight earth-digging machines over a period of 10 months. He arranged the deal through a department director who was close to him, the report said. He was prosecuted in a Wuhan court.
Man, 70, saved from fire
Neighbours pulled an elderly man unconscious from a fire at his home in Wuhan, the Chutian Metropolitan News reports. The man, 70, initially escaped the blaze but went back inside to retrieve 28,000 yuan in cash he kept under his bed. He was knocked unconscious by a falling tile, but pulled to safety by the neighbours and suffered only minor injuries.
Jiangsu
Runaway empty taxi
Five people were injured, one seriously, when an empty taxi rolled down a steep incline and into traffic in Nanjing on Tuesday, the Modern Express reports. The taxi pinned a boy, 10, to another car and passers-by managed to free him by pushing the vehicles apart. He remains in critical condition in hospital.
Dead son's 1m yuan debt
An elderly couple in Taizhou is struggling to pay off about 1 million yuan in debts accrued by their son who died in a traffic accident, the Modern Express reports. The parents managed to clear nearly a third of the money owed by doing odd jobs and using their savings. Some of the debtors forgave the amount owed to them after learning that the couple, both in their 70s, were living in poverty.
Shaanxi
Pandas hit by virus
An 18-month-old giant panda at a breeding centre in Xian has died of canine distemper - a contagious viral disease that affects dogs and some wildlife species, the China News Service reports. Another three pandas have also contracted the disease, and three others were listed as suspected cases. A team of 11 experts has been sent to the facility to monitor the treatment.
200 scammed by phone
Police in Weinan have arrested 19 people suspected of swindling nearly 2 million yuan through telephone scams, the Huashang Daily reports. They allegedly duped more than 200 people by pretending to be relatives who needed to borrow money. Police launched an investigation after receiving complaints in October. Five suspects remain at large.
Shandong
Exam-taker 'pestered'
A 27-year-old woman in Zibo complained that she was disrupted several times by a proctor during the national entrance exams for graduate programmes last weekend and could not finish one of the tests, Iqilu.com reports. She said the proctor checked her identity several times during the exam, asking her to provide details including her address and ID number. She returned to the school where she took the exam to seek an explanation, but was taken away by police for questioning after the proctor accused her of assault.
School bus burns
A school bus belonging to a college in Jinan city caught fire on New Year's Eve but no one was injured, Iqilu.com reports. The college said that only the driver was aboard and was on his way home, when the fire started. The college said it had decided to retire the bus before the incident, and vowed to improve safety.
Sichuan
Brother used as decoy
A woman in her 20s walked out with two iPhones after leaving her five-year-old brother in a shop in Chengdu on Monday, saying she was going to withdraw money from a nearby bank, news portal Newssc.org reports. The shop assistant called police several hours later after the woman failed to return. Police called the parents to take the boy home while they searched for his sister.
Man slashes schoolgirl
A 16-year-old girl in Chengdu was slashed across the face by a knife-wielding stranger on her way home from school on Monday, Newssc.org reports. The man, believed to be in his 30s, suddenly grabbed the girl from behind and cut her face twice, near her mouth and right eye. Her injuries required 20 stitches.
Yunnan
Two killed on tour bus
Two tourists died and four were injured when a minibus overturned in Xishuangbanna prefecture, the Chuncheng Evening News reports. The vehicle was carrying 16 passengers from other provinces and had been hired by an unlicensed travel agency. The driver, who did not have a permit for commercial operations, was reportedly trying to avoid inspectors when he lost control of the vehicle.
Official and wife jailed
A court in Kunming has jailed a former bank official for 12 years, and his wife for 10 years, for demanding 1 million yuan in bribes from a local tea company, the Yunnan Information Daily reports. In return, the former bank official offered loans totalling 70 million yuan to the company.