Heavy fines for forest smokers

Hot on the heels of China's controversial smoking ban, Beijingers now face the prospect of heavy fines for lighting up during woodland picnics.

According to a newly released draft regulation, officials are looking to increase the penalty for puffing away or starting campfires in forests from 5 yuan to 1,000 yuan. Anyone found guilty of causing a blaze could even be fined up to 3,000 yuan.

As much as 95 percent of all forest fires are caused by human activity, said a press statement from the city's landscape and forestry bureau on Tuesday. "I wouldn't call it an exaggeration if you made that figure 99 percent," added Li Jingrui, a fire prevention officer in the bureau's public safety department, in a phone interview with METRO.