Pulse

Around Beijing

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-04 08:01

Crime

Instructor arrested for stealing students' fees

A martial arts instructor, who squandered his students' fees before contemplating suicide, has been arrested, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

The 21-year-old instructor, surnamed Niu, kept the fees of two of his students for a martial arts festival, and left the school in December 2010 with 16,000 yuan. Due to bad relationships with his colleagues and parents, Niu decided to kill himself. However, after spending all the money he changed his mind.

In March police arrested Niu in Guangdong province.

Crime

Fight with parents sparks robberies

A high school student robbed five people to prove his independence and audacity to his parents.

The 19-year-old, surnamed Yu, had an argument with his mother on Feb 11 because of his sudden declining grades in school. Distressed after breaking up with his girlfriend, Yu left home and in the following two days robbed five people of their cash and cell phones.

Yu later confessed that his motivation was to show his parents that he could survive without them.

Community

Major overhaul for downtown drains

The capital's downtown drainage lines will be reinstalled and altered in the next five years, according to plans announced by the Beijing Water Authority.

As well, the siltation problem affecting 70 percent of drain lines will be solved by the end of this year. The remaining drains will be finished by 2012.

A total of 2.12 billion yuan will be invested in the reconstruction project during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015).

Community

Spate of poisonings kill dogs in Daxing

Ten dogs have been killed by poison in Milan Tiankong community in Daxing district since early April. Police are investigating the matter, according to Qianlong website.

After the incidents, residents became worried about the safety of their pets and have been keeping them at home than taking them out for walks.

According to a notice released at the community forum, the poison was placed in a garbage bin in the area.

Attorney Su Huaidong at Beijing Jia'an Law Firm said the person who poisoned the dogs will face a criminal charge as the poison could also harm people.

Accident

Firefighters rush to hillside inferno

A hill fire that broke out on Monday afternoon at Jiulong Mountain in Mentougou district was extinguished three hours later.

More than 600 firefighters were assigned to the site and 200 locals at Longquan town were also mobilized to help in firefighting and rescue work.

People had to move fire-extinguishing equipment to the peak of the mountain where the fire started, which made it difficult to fight the blaze. Firefighters said that there was little water and they had to use shovels and fire-extinguishing bullets to fight the blaze.

The cause of the fire is being investigated and no injuries were reported.

Traffic

Injured driver finally wins fight for compo

After appealing for justice for eight days, Chen Guosheng, a truck driver who survived an unusual road accident last month, finally received his compensation on Tuesday.

At about 11 pm on April 25, Chen and his father, 60, were driving through Shiliuzhuang village in Fengtai district when the road surface suddenly collapsed. The truck fell into a big crater that was more than 10 meters deep.

The two, both seriously injured, received no compensation for their medical care. The family finally received compensation from the city's rescue and disaster relief center.

(China Daily 05/04/2011)