Crime

Sculptures go missing from greening zone

Two of the three groups of sculptures in the greening zone southwest of Guangshun Bridge in Wangjing have gone missing over the past four months, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

The bronze sculptures were built just before the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They are large; the one of an old man doing tai chi, for example, is almost 2 meters tall.

Residents suspect they were stolen by waste collectors at night.

"The sculptures are so vivid that children like them very much, especially the one of the hawk preying on a chicken," said a self-described witness online. "I noticed the thieves kept stealing one piece of work every three days."

The neighborhood's community officials said they would report the case to the police.

Court

Thief snared after car raid on expressway

A robber who targeted drivers who stopped at an emergency lane on a highway went on trial at Tongzhou court on Monday, Beijing Times reported.

On Sept 2, 2009, Wei and two others allegedly stole a bag containing 12,000 yuan from a car stopped at the emergency zone of the Beijing-Shanghai expressway. When the car owner discovered the theft, he and his friend ran after the three men and recovered the bag.

Wei ran away and went back to his hometown, but he was caught on Jan 30. Meng, one of the three, was hit by a truck while running away and was killed. The third, Qin, was also caught and will be prosecuted later.

A verdict is pending.

Community

Heat boosts capital's thirst for water

With temperatures rising, city residents' water consumption is breaking records, Beijing Times reported on Wednesday.

Water consumption hit 2.72 million centimeters on June 2, which was a record. The water authorities said on June 7 that the highest daily water use was expected to be 2.97 million cm this summer, which will exceed last year's average by 86,000 cm and the peak will come in June and July.

The peak is close to the limit of the city's water supply. The increased demand is due to the completion of new residential buildings, high temperatures and increased public works.

Accident

Woman breaks man's bone in arm wrestle

A man's arm was broken when he arm-wrestled with a woman at a KTV in Xicheng district on Monday, Beijing Times reported.

The man went to the KTV with some friends and they played arm wrestling, but he screamed as soon as he started to play with a woman. His friend thought he was joking, but found he just screamed more loudly. The man then went to a nearby hospital where a doctor said his arm was broken.

A doctor from the Beijing Jishuitan Hospital said the man's fracture was caused by a wrong movement and he would need at least two months to recover.

The doctor suggested that a warm-up is necessary before any exercise.

Court

Homeowner fined in group-rental case

Haidian district court has ruled against a homeowner in the verdict in a group-rental case, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

The homeowner, surnamed Wang, was fined 50,000 yuan for damage caused to a neighbor who lived below her apartment.

Wang divided her 160-square-meter apartment into more than a dozen small rooms and rented them to more than 20 people. All the renters shared a washroom, which became overloaded. The pipe finally broke and the dirty water flooded downstairs and damaged furniture, books and paintings belonging to Xu.

The court ruled that Wang should give Xu 50,000 yuan in compensation.

Accident

Lightning kills two as severe storm hits city

Two people were killed and one injured on Tuesday night in Beijing's strongest thunderstorm this year, Mirror Evening News reported.

Thunder and lightning hit the city at 3 pm, reaching a peak at 5 pm with 237 strikes in an hour, according to the weather department. There were 1,055 rumbles of thunder, of which 30 percent were in downtown areas.

A 53-year-old woman was hit by lightning at 10 pm in Changping district while collecting clothes outside. Two men, aged 50 and 31, were also hit at about 2 am on Wednesday in Fengtai district scooping water out of a storehouse. The 50-year-old died.

Another thunderstorm is expected to hit the city on Friday.

(China Daily 06/09/2011)