Around the nation: Woman driver faces 100,000 bill for dinging $5m Rolls Royce
Also: Guangzhou plans to give residency to 1.5 migrant workers; Poor dad beaten by demanding son
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 10 February, 2015, 9:02pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 10 February, 2015, 9:02pm
A woman driver who ran into a 5-million-yuan Rolls Royce Ghost faces a repair bill of 100,000 yuan. Photo: SCMP Pictures
FUJIAN
Driver faces crippling bill
A woman driver who escaped injury after colliding with a Rolls-Royce Ghost in Fuzhou was stunned to learn she faces an enormous bill for the damage. When told the luxury sedan valued at more than 5 million yuan would cost at least 100,000 yuan to repair, she phoned for help. A friend soon arrived in a Maserati, and tried to negotiate with the driver of the Rolls-Royce. But police decided the woman was responsible and should cover the repairs.
Temple 'killer' caught
Police in Fuzhou have arrested a man accused of killing two people, including a three-year-old boy, and injuring another, the China News Service reports. The suspect went to a Buddhist temple, planning to pray for luck in a lottery. As he could not afford incense, he decided to hide in the temple after closing time to steal some. But he bumped into a temple keeper, and allegedly attacked him with a stick. When the keeper died, he attacked the keeper's wife and grandson, fearing they would report him to the police.
BEIJING
Paid riches for rags
A woman who paid more than 800 yuan (HK$1,000) for a new coat imported from South Korea at online retailer Taobao Marketplace received one that was worn out and dirty, the Beijing Morning Post reports. At first the dealer refused to take back the garment, but offered her 100 yuan for dry cleaning. The woman complained to Taobao, but waited nearly two weeks for a reply. In the end, Taobao promised a full refund.
Temple events cancelled
Beijing will cancel some key events at temple fairs to limit the number of visitors during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, The Beijing News reports. A temple fair has been cancelled in Lianhuachi Park, as well as worshipping ceremonies at the Temple of Heaven have been cancelled. The moves are out of security concerns following a stampede in Shanghai on New Year's Eve that killed 36 people.
GUANGDONG
Four die in residential fire
Four people died in a blaze at their residential building in Foshan yesterday, Xinhua reports. Firefighters rescued 14 others trapped in the building during the hour-long fire that started at about 6.30am. Police and fire department officials are investigating the cause.
Migrant residency plan
Guangzhou will accept about 1.5 million migrant workers from rural areas working in the city as urban residents in five years, according to a new pilot plan for urbanisation, the Southern Metropolitan News reports. By 2020, the proportion of people classed as city residents will reach about 88 per cent. The provincial capital will invest nearly 150 billion yuan to meet the target, meaning the transformation of each migrant worker into an urban resident will cost around 100,000 yuan.
HAINAN
Dad beaten for being poor
Police stopped a man, 20, beating his father at Sanya train station, People.com.cn reports. The son was upset that his father asked him to take a train home for Lunar New Year, instead of buying him an air ticket. He also felt ashamed of his father's image as a migrant worker. The father said he could not afford a flight for his son, and begged for his understanding.
More tourists for Sansha
The city of Sansha plans to open new routes for cruise ships and some islands to tourists to expand its emerging tourism business, according to Mayor Xiao Jie, Xinhua reports. It will also develop mariculture industries and build a maritime museum. Sansha city was established in July, 2012, to administer most of the South China Sea.
HEBEI
Police bust 'cooperative'
Police in Xingtai have arrested all "major suspects" in an illegal fundraising scheme that swindled about 1.2 billion yuan from 36,000 people, the China News Service reports. Police did not say how the self-described "cooperative community" worked but rejected reports that it was worth more than 8 billion yuan. They say the scheme was started by 38 farmers in 2007, who promised high returns and other forms of bonuses including overseas trips and expensive agricultural devices to attract investment from other farmers who lived in Hebei and neighbouring provinces.
Air quality improves
The environmental bureau said the province's 11 main cities enjoyed an average of 152 days with good air quality last year, 23 more than in 2013, the China Environmental News reports. The average concentration of PM2.5 pollutants dropped 12 per cent from a year earlier. The bureau punished 7,090 companies for illegal pollution discharges. But seven local cities still ranked among the nation's 10 most-polluted cities.
HUNAN
Baby abandoned
A baby girl was left at a hospital in Changsha five hours after she was born, and doctors say they are waiting for her parents to return, the Changsha Evening News reports. The mother went into labour on the street and a passer-by called an ambulance. She gave birth in the vehicle and was then sent to hospital with the child. Her husband came to the hospital to check on her, and later left, claiming he was going home to fetch some documents. The mother also quietly left the hospital. In the meantime, their phones have been switched off.
Entire gang jailed
A local court in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao autonomous prefecture has sent all 27 members of a gang to jail for between one to 25 years, Xinhua reports. Their offences included intentional injury, drug dealing, possession of firearms and fraud. The gang operated underground casinos in Fenghuang county and Longren city for three years.
JIANGSU
In for the bling
Xuzhou police have arrested a woman for steeling an iPhone 6 plus from a mobile phone shop, Jschina.com.cn reports. Surveillance showed the woman tried unsuccessfully to steal from a gold jewellery shop. The woman escaped the phone shop in a taxi, but was caught by police a week later. She told police she stole because all her friends were wearing gold accessories or using expensive cell phones.
Kind or incompetent?
A man in Nanjing found only a 100-yuan note missing from his wallet after his car was broken into, the Yangtse Evening News reports. The man left a Louis Vuitton handbag worth more than 10,000 yuan in his car while he was dining. He returned to find a car window smashed and signs someone had rummaged through the bag, including his wallet, but only the 100-yuan note was missing.
SHANDONG
Officials killed in crash
Seven officials died when their minibus overturned in Mengshan Park on Monday, Xinhua reports. Another 14 people were injured. All the passengers were officials from the park's tourism management bureau, who were conducting a fire prevention inspection of the park.
Bribe paid for home
An employee at a Jinan government agency has been jailed for 10 years for taking a 220,000-yuan bribe from two companies, the Jinan Times reports. In return, the official helped the two companies win bids for construction projects. He used the ill-gotten gains to buy a home.
