Click here to see the Chinese text for these stories
1. Kindly Helping Someone Leads to Being Conned
Bank Deposits Stolen in ATM Scam
Correspondent Xu Wenqiu, Dispatch to the Evening News
A supposed traveler from a distant place has fallen on hard times and needs to borrow money or a bank card. That scam has been exposed by the media many times, but still people continue to get fooled.
On the 24th a Ms. Wei, who is from Rong'an County and works in Liuzhou, ran into just such a scammer and, not realizing what was going on, was conned out of 8,000 Yuan [≈$1,290]. How did the scammer work it this time?
On the evening of August 24 at about 10 p.m., Ms. Wei of Rong'an County (age 22), met a handsome man near the entrance of the Gongmao Building on Dragon City Road. He claimed to have come to Liuzhou from Hong Kong to visit family and do some sightseeing. In a slight Cantonese accent, he declared that his family was quite wealthy but that the money and property he brought with him had been stolen. Further, he was unable to get in touch with his relatives. All he had left on his person was a Citibank credit card which cannot be used in Liuzhou. He wondered if Ms. Wei would loan him her bankcard so his family transfer funds [to her account]. He would be very grateful when he received the money.
The kind-hearted Ms. Wei, seeing what a bind the fellow was in, agreed to do what he wanted. He suggested that the two of them should go to the bank together first, to check and see how much money was in her account, to avoid any misunderstanding or uncertainty later on [about how much money had been transferred in]. They went into the Communications Bank on South Liberation Road to check. Afterwards the man phoned someone and then told Ms. Wei he'd asked a family member to deposit some money. Later they went back in the bank several times to check but didn't find that any funds had been deposited. The man claimed that his family member was rather busy and probably hadn't had time to send the money yet.
Subsequently the man amiably invited Ms. Wei out for a midnight snack. They got some coffee and, by the time they finished, it was already about 0:38 in the morning on the 25th. The man told Ms. Wei that he had something he needed to do and would leave her for a while. Ms. Wei, in a momentary lapse of common sense, gave her bank card and password to him. As the man was leaving he said he would definitely be back within a half hour. He also gave her a phone number to contact him.
Ms. Wei waited half an hour and called the number when he hadn't returned, but the call didn't go through. Ms. Wei felt compelled to call a good friend and explain what had happened. The friend immediately realized that Ms. Wei had been conned and suggested that she call the police right away.
Officers at the Plaza Police Affairs Station of the City Center Traffic Patrol received the call and rushed to the scene to provide assistance. Through investigation they learned that 8,000 Yuan which Ms. Wei had on deposit had been taken from her account in four separate ATM withdrawals within half an hour. The officers drove Ms. Wei around the area several times in their car for a close look, but of course the con man was nowhere to be seen.
As of now the police are taking steps to expand the investigation of this matter.
Liuzhou Evening News, 2012-08-27, p. 4
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Man Backs Up Over Drinking Buddy
Drunk Driving Charge Still Under Investigation
Reporter Deng Pengbin, Direct to the Evening News
"Who's so careless when backing up, not to see such a big man sleeping on the road!" Yesterday morning at just after 7, as he was backing up a car in the Pingshan neighborhood, a man carelessly hit and injured a drunk who was lying in the road.
Your reporter went to the scene and saw a small black sedan parked on the green-belt. There was a patch of blood behind the car, but the injured man had already been taken to a hospital for treatment. A Ms. Tan, a resident of the neighborhood, said she had seen a man lying in the road a little after 6 in the morning. There's a night market in the neighborhood so there's often people in the area drinking. She figured this guy had gotten drunk and spent the night asleep in the road and didn't give it a second thought. How could she have figured that this kind of accident would happen?
Everyone who saw the drunk get injured thought it was peculiar. A Ms. Wu said the man hadn't been sleeping under the wheels of the car. The car's owner should have noticed there was someone in the road when he got in the vehicle, and if he had, how could anyone have been injured? A resident speculated that the driver had himself been asleep in the car and caused the accident when he backed up without looking.
"We're all good friends who go drinking together at night." Your reporter went to the City Tumor Hospital and saw the owner of the car. He said the injured man is named Mr. Zhang. On the 22nd after they and a group of friends had been drinking, he got in the car and went to sleep. He didn't know his friend had gone to sleep lying in the road. And when he started the car on the morning of the 23rd, he didn't notice his friend lying in the road.
A doctor explained that Mr. Zhang's most serious injuries were to his head. He still needed further observation and treatment. Currently the Yufeng Brigade of the Traffic Police has done a blood test of the car owner to see if he should be held under suspicion of driving under the influence.
(A Mr. He was awarded 30 Yuan for contributing material to this report.)
Liuzhou Evening News, 2012-09-24, P. 9
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Old Man Slips in Mud, Sits Paralyzed Several Hours
Luckily Found By Good Samaritan
Reporter Li Jie, Correspondent Deng Jixun
Yesterday at 12 noon Zhang Junming, the 37-year-old operator of a road compactor, saw a hand waving in the distance while he was working on a dirt pile in Malu Mountain Park. When he got closer he saw it was an ashen-faced old man lying in the dirt pile, covered with mud, his cane and hat thrown to one side. Zhang Junming immediately called [the emergency number] 110 for help.
The old man who fell down is named Li Shiye. The 78-year-old is from the village of Ox Cart Plain, but currently resides in a rental unit on Rongjun Road while new residences are under construction in the village. At 8 that morning the old fellow had taken a bus to the far side of Institute Road. Then, propped up by his cane, he walked to Ox Cart Plain to see how the finishing work on his new home was progressing. But the old codger got lost while returning to the bus stop. He followed a fork in the road all the way to a landfill area in Malu Mountain Park.
The ground there was wet and slippery because of the rain the last couple of days. In a moment of carelessness Mr. Li slipped on a muddy spot and his hat and cane were thrown to one side. Mr. Li has some paralysis in his right leg and hand, and when he fell, he didn't have enough strength to stand back up using only his left hand. He could do nothing but sit in the mud and wait.
"Brmmmm." After several hours Mr. Li heard the sound of machinery operating. Full of hope, he raised his arm to wave for help and, before long, a young man came walking over.
Mr. Li said something very emotionally, but Zhang Junming couldn't understand his Yulin dialect. He was unwilling to help the old man up without first checking for injuries, so he said: "I'll call the police for you." Officers from the Sunlight Police Affairs Station arrived quickly. The old man was covered with mud, his face was a bit pale, and sweat was pouring from his forehead, but the officers noted that he was conscious and clearheaded. They attempted to contact his family but no one was at home. Through investigation and questioning in detail, they found that the old man had no major impairment and was not in need of medical care.
Liuzhou Evening News, 2012-09-24, p. 09
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Ticket Buying Scam to Rip Off Baggage and Assets
"Habitual Con Artist" Gets Jail Term and Fine
Reporter Li Lan, Correspondent Wang Wei, Dispatch to the Evening News
In February 2012 a Mr. Su, whose family is originally from Hunan Province, colluded with others to defraud people of their property on the pretext of helping them buy train tickets. In the end he was arrested and brought to justice by the police. This is not the first time he has been involved with the law. He was incarcerated for fraud in late 2006.
Today, the South Liuzhou District Peoples Court, in accordance with law, issued a decision that Mr. Su is guilty of fraud.
On February 10, 2012, at about 1:00 p.m., the defendant Mr. Su conspired with "Toothy" and "Rocky" (the two were tried separately) to go to the ticket counter [alongside the main train station] on South Station Road in our city to look for an opportunity to con someone. When they found a victim, a Mr. Liu, "Toothy" struck up a conversation with him. Then Mr. Su pretended to be a passenger who was buying a ticket. Intentionally standing beside Mr. Liu, he made a phone call claiming that he knew someone who could get him tickets, thereby luring Mr. Liu onto his hook.
After gaining the victim Mr. Liu's trust, Mr. Su and "Toothy" then took him to a spot near the front gate of the South Liuzhou District Peoples Court under the guise of helping him get a ticket. At this time "Rocky" pretended to be an official who was helping Mr. Su get a ticket. The three first conned Mr. Liu into telling them his bank card PIN number. Then, by claiming that he could not carry a bag when buying a ticket, they defrauded Mr. Liu of a shoulder bag containing ¥3,400 in cash [≈$548], four bank cards and a bank deposit book.
Subsequently the three used up 24,251 Yuan [≈$3,911] by making bank withdrawals and purchases with Mr. Liu's bank cards. On May 30, 2012, at about 5:00 p.m., Public Security officers arrested the defendant Mr. Su at the ticket sales counter in the city's [main passenger station,] the South Train Station. After the crime was revealed, the defendant Mr. Su's sister repaid 27,555 Yuan [≈$4,444] to the victim Mr. Liu on behalf of her brother.
Considering all the circumstances – defendant Mr. Su's commission of several offences as a repeat offender being aggravating factors, with his accurate avowal of his offences and his sister's compensation by proxy of the victim for the majority of his losses as factors in mitigation – the South Liuzhou District Peoples Court, in accordance with law, issued a decision imposing a determinate sentence of two years eight months and a fine of 56,000 Yuan [≈$9,032] on him.
Liuzhou Evening News, 2012-08-27, P. 3
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. This Lady's Really Out of Luck
Sedan She's Driving Drops into Drain
Wheel Bounces Out and Blows Tire
Reporter Zheng Kai, Dispatch to the Evening News
Yesterday morning a small car passing under the railway bridge on West Tanzhong Road was given a ferocious "clang" by a hole in the road. The driver had turned the steering wheel as fast as she could to try to go around it, but the right front wheel hit the hole and bounced out with a blown tire.
Yesterday around noon your reporter arrived at the scene and saw a small red car stopped under the bridge. The tire on the right front wheel was blown and a gouge had been knocked out of the hub. The hole was a city government drain.
The car's owner, a Ms. Xiong, said she was passing by there at about 11:00 a.m. As she approached the city government drain, she noticed that it didn't have a cover. In desperation she yanked the steering wheel to go around the hole, but the front wheel still dropped in. She stepped on the gas to get out but the tire had already blown.
Your reporter interviewed a staff member from the City Maintenance Department at the scene. He said the hole was formed when a large cargo truck drove over the drain, breaking a shaft off the cover and bouncing the cover out. They rushed over as soon as they received a report from the public and they had just arrived when the incident occurred. They witnessed Ms. Xiong's car drive into the hole but didn't have a chance to say anything to prevent it.
When Ms. Xiong brought up the question of liability, they said these city government installations are insured, compensation to be initiated by the insurance company.
Afterwards, your reporter got in contact with Ms. Xiong. She said the spare tire had been put on her car yesterday afternoon and she had driven to the 4S shop* for repairs. After inspecting the damage the entire tire [sic: wheel?] was replaced, costing her ¥698 [≈$112]. But the insurance company staff had told her she should be responsible for 30% of the cost of replacing the tire because the tire being replaced had been used for so long. She was not satisfied with this.
*Fannyi's note: 4S = A dealer's Sales, Spare [parts], Service and [Customer] Satisfaction Surveys Department
Liuzhou Evening News, 2012-09-05, p. 5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. This Guy is Really Unlucky
Tire Explodes While Being Filled
Chin Split by Blast
Reporter Li Shuhou, Dispatch to the Evening News
Yesterday afternoon in front of a tire repair shop on Gui-Liu Road near the Sanmenjiang Bridge, while a man was putting air in the tires of a truck, the tire he was in the process of filling suddenly exploded with a loud "peng". The man was knocked right to the ground by a huge blast of air from the explosion. His chin was split open and his pants were blown to pieces.
The accident occurred a little after 5 p.m. and your reporter rushed to the scene. The injured man had already been taken away by an ambulance [called through the emergency phone number] 120. Only a large truck with one right-center tire already removed was still parked on the road in front of the tire repair shop, and a lot of blood was left on the roadway.
Mr. Lee, the driver of the truck, told your reporter: "A large explosion scared the heck out of me." He had driven the truck to the tire repair shop's entryway yesterday afternoon and gone to sleep in the truck's cab while the tire was being changed. He got out of the truck quickly when he heard the explosion and saw the man who was changing the tire for him passed our motionless on the ground, blood oozing from his chin.
The 120 unit which had received the request for help had already been to the scene and taken him to the hospital.
"What exploded was a spare tire. I guess he put too much air in it." After the man was taken by 120, Mr. Lee said, he had hung the spare under the rear of the truck by himself.
Your reporter observed that the spare had exploded from the side of the tire. A hole about 10 centimeters long had been blown out.
The explosion opened a lesion about two centimeters long in Mr. Zhang's chin.
(A Ms. Ji was awarded 30 Yuan [≈$4.76] for contributing material to this report.)
Liuzhou Evening News, 2012-09-05 , p. 5
Chinese text available here.
4. Ticket Buying Scam to Rip-Off Baggage
5. This Lady's Really Out of Luck
6. This Guy is Really Unlucky
1. Good Deed Leads to Being Conned
2. Man Backs Up Over Drinking Buddy
3. Old Man Slips, Sits Paralyzed Several Hours
Chinese Stories in English
News Translations Published in September 2012