Around China

JIANGSU

Elderly mansteals cellphone

A 70-year-old man was detained in Nanjing on Feb 19 on suspicion of stealing an iPhone 6 Plus cellphone. The man, surnamed Li, is accused of taking the phone as he walked past a basketball court in the city's Qixia district on Feb 17. He then allegedly sold the phone, which is valued at more than 6,000 yuan ($873), for a fraction of that price because he did not know how to use it. Police said Li only got 200 yuan for the device and had no previous criminal record.

YANGTZE EVENING NEWS

Parents sue over 'fake divorce'

An elderly couple in Nanjing are attempting to bring their former daughter-in-law to court, for allegedly cheating their son out of a house. The 80-year-old father, surnamed Zhao, told lawyers that his daughter-in-law had refused to remarry his son after they had a "fake divorce". She changed the locks on their home after the title deeds were transferred to her name and would not let the son back inside, Zhao said. There is a legal loophole in China that lets spouses avoid capital gains tax if they split up before selling a second home.

MODERN EXPRESS DAILY

SHANGHAI

Unfaithful wife sued by husband

A court in the city's Minhang district has ordered a woman who had a child with another man to pay her husband 100,000 yuan in compensation ($14,500). The husband, surnamed Zhuang, sued his wife, surnamed Chen, for divorce after discovering the 5-year-old son he had raised was not his own. Zhuang and Chen tied the knot in February 2007 and Chen gave birth two years later. The court ruled in favor of Zhuang, saying he did not have to financially support the boy unless he wanted to.

LABOR DAILY

ZHEJIANG

Forger sold counterfeit wood

A man in Pingyang was detained on Feb 8 on suspicion of faking authentication documents to cheat a buyer out of 1.68 million yuan ($244,200). The alleged swindler, surnamed Lin, stands accused of passing off a length of wood worth 200 yuan for a rare piece of phoebe nanmu, an endangered species of evergreen tree that is endemic to southern China and Vietnam. The buyer, surnamed Wang, sought police help after discovering the wood was fake. Phoebe nanmu is slow growing, highly resistant to decay and was used in the construction of the Forbidden City.

CAIJING.COM.CN

Woman driver parks in road

A woman in Lin'an caused a 200-meter traffic jam after parking her BMW in the middle of a busy road on Feb 16. The driver, surnamed Shi, even argued with a traffic officer about her illegal parking before locking her car and walking off. The policeman called for a tow truck, which moved the car out of the way. Further investigations revealed that Shi's car had been involved in more than 40 traffic violations.

CHINANEWS.COM.CN

CHONGQING

Loud singer scares off passengers

A number of passengers disembarked a bus bound for Chongqing Zoo on Feb 19 after a man came aboard and would not stop singing. The man boarded the bus at Xiejiawan bus stop and sang loudly for money, despite being asked to lower his voice. The bus driver said he could do nothing about the man because there are no rules or regulations preventing people singing on the city's buses.

CHONGQING MORNING POST

GUANGDONG

Beijing man, 72, has sex change

A 72-year-old man from Beijing underwent gender reassignment surgery in Huizhou on Feb 15. Xin Yue had breast implants and underwent vaginoplasty as part of the operation, which lasted several hours. Before going under the knife, he had to complete a series of tests and answer more than 1,000 questions to ensure he was ready for gender reassignment. Xin, who married in 1970, has a daughter and was accompanied to the hospital for his surgery by his wife, who said she fully supported her husband's decision.

SOUTHERN METROPOLIS DAILY

SHAANXI

Woman disrespects museum chair

A young woman in Ankang who posted pictures of herself online sat in a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) armchair has been rebuked for her actions after being reported by netizens. The culprit ignored a notice that read "Please do not touch the relics" to take the photos at a local museum, according to Sha Zhongping, its director. The photos have since been removed, but lawyers said the woman could be blacklisted by tourism departments for her actions.

HUASHANG DAILY

GUIZHOU

Swindler caught in victim's restaurant

A suspect accused of defrauding a man of 4,800 yuan ($700) a year ago was detained after he turned up at the alleged victim's restaurant in Zunyi. The suspect, surnamed Xiao, allegedly took the money from his friend, surnamed Yang, to help him purchase some jewelry in January 2016. Yang sought police help as soon as he spotted Xiao, who apparently did not know he was eating in the former's restaurant.

GUIZHOU METROPOLIS DAILY

GUANGXI

Stranger helps stricken senior

A 70-year-old man who fell on an escalator in a metro station in Nanning was helped by a quick-thinking female passer-by on Feb 16. The incident took place in the city's convention center metro station during the morning rush hour. When the unnamed senior fell, a woman wearing red rushed forward to press the emergency stop button and help the man up.

CHINA CENTRAL TELEVISION

Mother threatens hunger strike

A woman in Nanning threatened to go on hunger strike when her daughter forgot to call her one evening recently. The daughter, surnamed Wu, had called her mother every day since getting married and moving away from home two years ago. She even visited her mother every week, according to her wishes. However, Wu forgot to phone her mother recently because she was too immersed in work. Wu said her mother always worries when she fails to call.

GXNEWS.COM.CN

HENAN

'Boss' goes on drunken rampage

A man was detained in the early hours of the morning on Feb 19 after going on a drunken rampage in a hotel in Zhengzhou. The man, in his 40s, trashed the computers at the hotel's check-in counter at about 5:15 am before vandalizing a piano and running outside to damage a parked car. Onlookers said he shouted: "I am the boss and I have a large sum of money." He is also accused of driving into a number of parked cars at a filling station on the city's Yingxie road earlier in the evening.

ZHENGZHOU EVENING NEWS

SHANDONG

Fire kills thousands of pigeons

More than 2,000 pigeons died in a fire that broke out in a 1,000-square-meter shed in Binzhou on Feb 18. The owner, 69-year-old Hou Chengliang, said that more than 200,000 yuan ($29,000) worth of losses had been caused by the fire, which spread quickly and also consumed a large quantity of eggs.

IQILV.COM

YUNNAN

Traffickers hide drugs in tea

Two men who allegedly attempted to send drugs using an express delivery service have been detained in Menghai county. A courier sought police help after he became suspicious of the men, surnamed Liao and Lin, and opened their packages, which contained an unknown substance hidden among tea. Police said they seized 24,540.4 grams of narcotics from the packages and launched an investigation. The county's procuratorate subsequently approved the arrest of Liao and Lin.

YUNNAN.CN

Children vandalize sharing bikes

Two minors were caught vandalizing bicycles belonging to a bike-sharing company in the middle of a busy street in Kunming recently. The bikes had their locks and QR codes removed by the boys, who had another six mangled bikes stored at their home. Police reprimanded the offenders and their legal guardians, but were unable to detain the boys as they were under the minimum age of criminal responsibility, which is 14 in China.

YUNNAN.CN