China Scene: South

Man held for trying to extort 16.3m yuan from police

A man in Zhongshan, Guangdong province, was detained for trying to extort 16.3 million yuan ($2.46 million) from the police.

The 40-year-old, surnamed Wang, was accused of placing a ransom note in a mooncake box and leaving it in front of a police station on Sept 25.

The letter read: "Pay 16.3 million yuan, else I'll reveal all your secrets."

Following his arrest, Wang told the police that he was angry with their department for not being able to catch a thief who stole 1,600 yuan from him in 2008.

(Southern Metropolis Daily)

Car owner faces 424 traffic tickets, 90,000-yuan fine

Police in Dongguan, Guangdong province, recently traced a car, which had violated traffic rules a shocking 424 times. The car's owner has accumulated unpaid fines to the tune of 90,000 yuan ($13,560).

During a random check, the police came across a license plate that had 395 traffic tickets against it since 2005.

The cops came across another car of the same make and same color, albeit with a different number plate, with 29 traffic tickets also unresolved.

The police later realized the two cars were actually just one. They detained the owner, who confessed he changed the license plate of his car to avoid punishment.

(Dongguan Times)

China Scene: East

Mahjong-addict forgets all about son asleep in car

A woman in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, forgot all about her 4-year-old son, whom she had locked in her car, as she played mahjong with her friends through the night.

A passer-by found the boy sleeping inside the car, which was parked along the road, last Monday and informed the police.

The police traced the boy's mother to a nearby residential building, where she was busy playing mahjong.

She said she had no intentions of playing mahjong that day, but agreed to play just one hand on her friends' insistence.

"Soon, I got completely hooked and forgot I had left my son in the car," she said.

(Yangtze Evening Post)

Villager, 50, grows 30 cm taller due to rare disease

A 50-year-old farmer in Jimo, Shandong province, who suffers from a rare disease, has grown more than 30 cm in height over the past two years.

Yu Shenzhong has pituitary adenoma, which causes the sufferer's body parts to grow very big in size.

According to doctors, it is a typical case of gigantism, which can be partially cured with a surgery.

(Qingdao Morning Post)

College students forced to sign life, death contract

More than 20,000 college students were forced to sign a "life and death contract" with the Shandong Jianzhu University recently.

According to the contract, in case a student commits suicide or is injured, "the university will not assume legal responsibility if it has performed its responsibilities".

"The school asked us to sign the contract. It is bad for us. I'm afraid," said an engineering management student at the university.

The college hopes to make students more aware of safety through this contract, according to Li, a staff member of the Department of Student's Work.

(Xi'an Evening News)

Resident disappears after ordering piles of pizzas

A resident of Ningbo, Zhejiang province, ordered 5,000 yuan ($753) worth of takeaway food from KFC and Pizza Hut, but disappeared just before the food was to arrive.

The fast food chains received huge order calls from one mobile phone number on Nov 9. But when they arrived at the given address with piles of pizzas and chicken wings, the caller switched off his mobile phone and couldn't be connected.

All the food had to be discarded and both fast food eateries filed a police complaint.

(Qianjiang Evening News)