Around the nation: Beijing advisers call for women-only carriages to fight sexual harassment
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 27 January, 2015, 10:05pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 27 January, 2015, 10:12pm
Beijing police warned women in 2013 not to wear miniskirts, hot pants or skimpy clothing in the summer to avoid sexual harassment. Photo: Reuters
BEIJING
Anti-harassment idea
Two political advisers have called for women-only carriages to reduce problems of rush-hour sexual harassment on the Beijing subway, Xinhua reports. They proposed the idea at the annual meeting of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, which ended on Monday. Police warned women in 2013 not to wear miniskirts, hot pants or skimpy clothing in the summer to avoid sexual harassment. In the 10 years to 2013, the annual number of subway passengers in the capital rose by six times to 3.2 billion.
Cemetery spooks residents
Residents have been spooked by the growth of a graveyard beside their apartments in Fangshan district, The Beijing News reports. One man said he could read the inscription on the graves 10 metres from his window. The local government told residents the graveyard – separated from the homes by a barrier – had been part of a nearby village for a century, so there was nothing they could do.
GUANGXI
Driver crashes into hotel
Staff stared in shock as an alleged drunk driver smashed his car through the revolving doors of a Longsheng county hotel at 9.30pm on Monday, turned around and drove out, Gxnews.com.cn reports. No one was hurt in the incident, which happened when few people were inside the lobby. Police later detained a man, who claimed to be the driver, and said he had driven into the hotel lobby for a thrill.
Smuggler’s death sentence
The leader of a gang of 24 people who smuggled 22 children from Vietnam to be sold in China has been sentenced to death, Chinanews.com reports. The others received sentences ranging from fines of 1,000 yuan to life imprisonment, it said. The gang’s leader smuggled the children after hearing that ethnic minority families in Guangdong were keen to adopt children.
JIANGSU
Court orders visits to mum
A woman identified as Zhou, in her 80s, sued three of her children for not visiting her enough, the Modern Express reports. Zhou, who has three sons and a daughter, lives with her richest son. She told a Nanjing court the others had not increased the frequency of their visits as she aged and her health deteriorated. The court ruled each of the three children must visit her once a month.
‘Female’ conman jailed
A man pretended to be a woman to con 7,900 yuan (HK$9,900) from online suitors keen to help a “damsel in distress”, the Yangtse Evening Post reports. The Beitang District People’s court jailed the man, identified as Wang, for six months, fined him 1,000 yuan and ordered him to repay the 7,900 yuan. The court was told he lost his job so posed as a woman on social media to borrow money “for rent”. Four men who sent him money alerted police after he shut his social media accounts.
SHANDONG
‘Bitten finger’ reattached
Doctors have managed to reattach a woman’s little finger after it was almost bitten off by her brother-in-law during a fight, news website gcxa.cn reports. The woman, identified as Wang, from Yinan county, claimed she had been hit on the head and her hand bitten as she tried to defend herself and her mother. She claimed he had been violent towards her sister and her mother in the past.
Sleepless thief
A man accused of stealing random items worth a total of 10,000 yuan while unable to sleep was caught by police in Mazhanzhen last Sunday, the news website langya.cn reports. Neighbours of the man, 59, and street vendors had reported the theft of numerous items left lying around since November, including ladders and sausages.
SHANGHAI
Temple cancels festival
An historic temple cancelled its traditional Laba Festival celebrations after the deadly New Year’s Eve stampede in the city left 36 people dead, Xinhua reports. The 1,700 year-old Linyi Temple traditionally serves porridge to commemorate the Buddha. Now, instead, it will deliver about 300,000 bowls of porridge to welfare centres and nursing homes.
Pet adoption success
Shanghai hosted its regular pet adoption event on Sunday, China Daily online reports. The stray animals had bright yellow bandanas placed around their necks as people came to play with them and maybe offer them homes. The report said more than 1,100 stray cats and dogs had been successfully adopted since the monthly events began a year ago.
SICHUAN
‘Assault’ teacher demoted
A secondary school teacher in Yilong county was demoted and docked a month’s pay for allegedly hitting a student with a cable, The Beijing News reports. He allegedly struck the student on the back with the cable after hearing that the student had been in a fight. The student was later taken to hospital. A picture was then circulated online, reportedly showing five wounds on the student’s back. But a spokesperson for the school claimed the picture had been “Photoshopped”.
Doctors save choking man
A Chengdu man, 33, was rushed to hospital after nearly choking on a jackfruit seed while playing a video game, West China City Daily reports. Doctors managed to force the seed, about the size of a man’s little finger, down his throat into his stomach on Sunday night and he was able to start breathing again.
TIANJIN
Two die in bus crash
Two people died and 10 others were injured after a bus carrying tourists from Henan province crashed into a height restriction barrier on a main road in Tianjin’s Wuqing district on Monday morning, chinanews.com reports. It said thick morning fog meant driving conditions were difficult at the time and the coach driver may not have seen the barrier.
‘Thoughtful’ phone robber
A robber who took 400 yuan from a woman at knife-point, then agreed to delete all the personal data on her mobile phone before stealing it as well, news website tianjinwe.com reports. The man, who attacked the woman in Tianjin as she walked home last December, restored the factory settings on her phone and handed over her SIM card before fleeing. The report said the suspect was now in police custody, and had allegedly robbed more than 10 other women.
ZHEJIANG
‘10-year con’ finally ends
An alleged conman in Yunhe county was caught after living for 10 years off the monthly “investment” payments given to him by a liquor store owner, Qianjiang Evening News reports. He approached the store owner in 2004, and convinced him and his family and friends to invest in a fake business, which he claimed a friend had started. The storeowner initially handed over 60,000 yuan, then made regular payments – sometimes totalling thousands of yuan – despite never receiving any dividends. The conman was only caught when the store owner became suspicious and called the police.
‘Drugs to hire girlfriend’
A man, 22, from Shaoxing, used methamphetamines to pay a woman to pretend to be his girlfriend to impress his parents, so they would pay him 50,000 yuan to clear his debts, Qianjiang Evening News reports. Police raided his home last week and both he and his girlfriend allegedly tested positive for methamphetamines. Items, allegedly including drugs, were also confiscated.
