Chinese Stories in English
News Translations Published May through July 2014
1. Men Get Prison for Operating Gambling Den
2. "Crazed Man" Crashes Vehicle, Arrested
3. Three Ingénues Take Drugs, Land in Jail
4. Hit-and-Run Driver Must Pay Damages
5. Urban Control Clears Illegal Garden
6. Job Fair Held in Liuzhou
7. Minors Hire Hookers
8. Road Rage Results in Knifing
9. Dancing Aunties Fight over Territory
10. Locals Complain to Hotline
11. People Watching World Cup Get Rowdy
Click here to see the Chinese text for these stories
1. Mountain Casino Had Shuttle Bus for Gamblers
Two Men Get Prison for Operating Gambling Den
Dispatch to South China Today, Liuzhou (Reporter He Shujun)
Partners Mr. Ou and Mr. Lin, from Luorong Town in Liuzhou Prefecture, opened a casino at the foot of a mountain in the First District of that town, complete with a shuttle bus to carry gamblers to and from the place. The police closed the gambling den down in one swoop after receiving a complaint. The Fish Peak People's Court has now issued a decision finding that Mr. Ou and Mr. Lin have committed the crime of operating a gaming establishment. They are each being sentenced to eight months in criminal detention and are also being fined.
In mid-October 2013, after conspiring with a Mr. Zhong (still at large) and others, Mr. Ou and Mr. Lin went together to fund the operation of a casino at the foot of a mountain beside a certain village in Liuzhou Prefecture, Luorong Town. They provided gaming paraphernalia and a shuttle service for gamblers, and further arranged to take a 5% cut of every pot. On the afternoon of October 19, 2013, after receiving a report from the populace, the East Liuzhou Public Security Bureau sent police officers to investigate the casino. In all they arrested 20 gamblers, 2 gambling shuttle drivers and 2 sentries, and confiscated a set of gaming paraphernalia. Mr. Ou and Mr. Lin avoided arrest at the casino because they were out running errands.
Public Security personnel arrested Mr. Lin and brought him to justice on November 21, 2013. On December 3, 2013, Mr. Ou was arrested and brought to justice by the Public Security authorities.
The Fish Peak court heard the case and concluded that Mr. Ou and Mr. Lin had opened the casino for the purpose of making a profit and that this behavior constituted the crime of operating a gaming establishment. Under the law, having truthfully confessed their crime, the two may be punished leniently. Mr. Lin's attitude in recognizing his crime after being brought to justice was relatively good, and he demonstrated repentance, so in accordance with the applicable conditions for probation, the court decided to declare a suspended sentence for him. Ultimately the Court made the following judgments according to law: Mr. Ou, for committing the crime of operating a gaming establishment, was sentenced to 8 months criminal detention and fined 20,000 Yuan [≈$3,280]; Mr. Lin, for committing the crime of operating a gaming establishment, was sentenced to 8 months criminal detention, suspended, and placed on probation for one year, and fined 20,000 Yuan.
South China Today, 2014-07-13, p. 6
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2. "Crazed Man" Formally Arrested
DUI in an Unregistered Vehicle, Crashed into Several Vehicles and a House, Fled to Avoid Capture
Reporter Pan Guihua, dispatch to the Evening News
Yesterday your reporter was told by the Accident Management Brigade of the Prefectural Public Security Bureau that an arrest on suspicion of the crime of reckless endangerment of public safety has been approved for a suspected criminal who, on the afternoon of June 27, after driving a white Iveco minibus without a license plate, hitting several cars in succession and smashing into a house, abandoned the vehicle and absconded to avoid capture.
Police investigation revealed that around 4:00 p.m. on June 27, after ingesting drugs (methamphetamine constituents were detected in his urine) the suspected criminal Song Junwei (male, 32, resident of this city) while driving a white Iveco minibus without a license plate northbound on West Goose Road toward the White Dew Bridge, fled to evade capture after colliding with a Passat sedan. After coming to a section of road near the Village Communist Party Headquarters in Mountaintop Village, West Goose Township, he collided with a Wuling minibus and then continued to flee. He collided with another sedan when he got to the Sun Village area, and with a motorcycle near Poplar and Willow Village. After fleeing in the Iveco minivan to Goodwater Storehouse Number Two in Literary Brush Village, where he crashed into the front door of a civilian's residence, the suspect abandoned the vehicle fled the scene.
After receiving the alarm, the South Liuzhou Brigade of the Traffic Police Division and the Accident Management Brigade quickly got involved in the investigation. Officers used micro-blogs and text messages to seek assistance in the investigation. They gathered clues, and at the same time viewed traffic monitor videotapes over and over, verifying in detail information about the vehicles. After a meticulous, 9-hour investigation lasting into the night, officers rushed to Literary Brush Village at 2:00 a.m. on June 28, and took the suspect Song Junwei into custody while he was in his home taking a shower.
The officer handling the investigation indicated that the police initiated an examination of the suspect Song Junwei's urine immediately after he was taken into custody. Constituents of methamphetamine were detected in the urine, leading to suspicion of "driving under the influence of drugs." Further investigation revealed that the suspect had received a driver license in 2000, valid until May 2014. When he created this disturbance, his license had already expired, which is classified as driving without a license.
The case has now been transferred to the South Liuzhou District Procurators Office.
Liuzhou Evening News, 2014-07-23, p. 2
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3. Taking Drugs to Ease Pain of Lost Love
Three Ingénues Unwittingly Land in Jail
Special Reporter Zhou Liuning, Dispatch to the Evening News
Yesterday 3 young women in the flower of youth did "something stupid" to ease the pain of lost love. As a result, they share responsibility for a "big deal" and are in jail together.
At a little after 1 yesterday morning, Sergeant Gong of the Pegasus Precinct Community Police Officers took a patrol team for a routine check of hotels in the district under their jurisdiction. While they were checking a certain hotel on Liushi Road, a hotel attendant told them about a situation: A little after 8 that evening, 3 young women had come in to get a room. As they were registering, the attendant noticed that all three women were in a bit of a daze. They smelled of alcohol and their eyes were red and swollen. Out of kindness, she asked if they needed any help, but they ignored her and headed straight upstairs. The attendant continued to worry about them after they went upstairs.
Subsequently the attendant led Sergeant Gong to a certain room on the second floor where the women were staying. After knocking on the door, Sergeant Gong identified himself as a police officer and explained why he was there. The woman who opened the door was momentarily stunned at the sudden appearance of a policeman. In a panic, the two women in the room picked up some things on the desk and appeared to be hiding them. Sergeant Gong immediately ordered them to stop and inspected the items on the desk.
The inspection revealed that the items on the desk were drug paraphernalia and [a material] suspected to be the drug methamphetamine. Throughout the incident, the 3 women did not talk about these things and really were in a trance. Subsequently they were brought back to the police station for investigation. Examination [indicated that] the 3 women, Ms. Pan, Ms. Xu, and Ms. Long (all 23-year-old residents of the city) had taken meth.
Faced with irrefutable evidence, the 3 eventually admitted their criminal drug use and told their "hard luck stories" about why they were doing drugs. They are good friends, and all 3 once had boyfriends. Three months ago, Ms. Pan stumbled upon evidence that her boyfriend had been "two timing" her and reluctantly accepted the fact that they would have to break up. During this period Ms. Xu and Ms. Long supported her through the crises. But what they hadn't expected was, soon thereafter, one after the other, Ms. Long, Ms. Xu and their boyfriends also broke up, and for similar reasons. All 3 were broken-hearted and depressed at the shared experience of lost love.
On the evening of the sixth, the 3 met for a meal. Without thinking about what they were doing, they had some drinks while talking about their broken hearts and began to feel very sad. Then Ms. Pan asked a friend to get some meth, and the 3 went to that hotel on Liushi Road to get a room to take the drug.
They said they thought that, since they were not "intentionally" taking drugs, they would not be punished. They became acquainted with "fearful regret" only after the police educated them as to the relevant points of law. By then it was too late. Currently, Ms. Pan and the others have been detained according to law.
Liuzhou Evening News, 2014-07-08, p. 9
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4. E-Bike Hit-and-Run Driver Captured
Will Bear Primary Liability for Accident Because Fled Scene
Reporter Pan Guihua, Dispatch to the Evening News
On June 11 a Mr. Lin, 72, while crossing Connected Dykes Road in the crosswalk in front of the bilingual school gate, was unexpectedly struck in the middle of the road by an e-bike being driven in the motorized vehicle lane. Mr. Lin fell to the ground, but the driver fled the scene (as was reported on page 15 of the June 12 edition of this paper). Yesterday afternoon a Mr. Yang, the man who had been driving the e-bike and who fled after the injury accident, was captured by officers of the Public Security Bureau, Traffic Police Division, City Center Brigade.
Yesterday afternoon your reporter saw Mr. Yang at the Traffic Police Division. He said he got very scared after the accident occurred. He was afraid he'd be held liable for the injured man's medical expenses, so he fled on his e-bike. For the last few days he's been worried that the cops would catch him. He wanted to run whenever he saw a police car.
Officer Zhang, who had worked the case, explained that the police put all their energies into following leads after the accident. They announced the details of the incident to the public through newspaper and television ads, and gave a phone number for people to call if they had anything to report. On June 16, a city resident called in to report that the hit-and-run driver had surfaced in a public market. Yesterday afternoon, after getting a lead about Mr. Yang's comings and goings at Grindstone Beach Road, First Section, officers immediately went out in a car. They saw Mr. Yang on a street near Grindstone Beach Road, First Section.
Mr. Yang took to his heels when he a saw a police car in the vicinity with officers getting out. The officers chased him a few dozen meters before capturing him.
Investigation revealed that Mr. Yang, 48, does not have a job. He is from Quanzhou in Guilin Prefecture and resides on Prairie Fire Road, First Section [in Liuzhou]. According to the Police, it turns out that [at the time of the accident] both parties were breaking the law. Mr. Lin, the injured man, was crossing against the red light, and Mr. Yang was driving his e-bike in the motor vehicle lane. Had Mr. Yang not chosen to flee after the accident, but instead carried out his duties to park his vehicle, preserve the scene, render aid and notify the police, his liability would not have been large. But because he made the mistake of choosing to flee after creating a disturbance, he will bear the primary liability for the accident.
Liuzhou Evening News, 2014-06-22, p. 3
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5. Residents Grow Veggies on Hillside in Community
Urban Control Department Clears Area in Accordance with Law
"Someone is cultivating a bunch of vegetable plots of various sizes on the mountain south of Liushi Road, next to the First South City residential community. They've applied artificial fertilizers and when the wind blows, it stinks to high heaven everywhere in the community. Come quickly and help us deal with this." In late May, after the Central Liushi Road Detachment of the Fish Peak District Urban Control Law Enforcement Bureau received complaints from the public, [officers] came to the scene to investigate the situation. They found that someone had "availed themselves of the opportunity" to cultivate half the mountain next to Buildings 15 and 16 of First South City. There were dozens of vegetable plots of various sizes [covering] about 150 square meters. They not only affected the appearance of the community and polluted the environment, but also endangered public safety through landslides, rock falls and other potential hazards.
On the morning of May 29, the Fish Peak District Law Enforcement Bureau organized a detachment [to go] to these vegetable plots. They posted more than 10 notices advising residents to clear out and straighten up the area on their own within three days. If the area was not cleared and straightened within that time, the Bureau would investigate and deal with the matter in accordance with the law. The law enforcement team returned to the vegetable plots on June 6 and, as authorized by law, performed a clean-up of the plots which had not been cleared out and straightened up.
Liuzhou Evening News, 2014-06-09 , p. 10
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6. Guangxi Autonomous Region Job Search Training and Job Fair Held in Liuzhou
"Finding a Way" for Poor College Graduates
Evening News Reporter Lai Zhuwu
The 2014 Guangxi Job Search Training Class for Exceptionally Poor College and University Graduates, and the Special Session Job Fair for Exceptionally Poor College and University Graduates, sponsored jointly by the Education Office for the [Guangxi] Autonomous Region and the Training Department of the Liuzhou City Government Professional Academy, was held on June 7 at the Eastern Campus of the Liuzhou City Government Professional Academy. During the training session, experts in psychology and on finding employment taught interview skills and passed on knowledge akin to psychological coaching to over 100 exceptionally poor graduates. The sponsors organized more than 20 sympathetic companies to attend the special session to recruit, and those companies offered more than 500 employment opportunities to the exceptionally poor graduates. The Guangxi Education Office also issued a 300 Yuan Job Search Subsidy to each of the exceptionally poor graduates.
According to an official at the Guangxi Education Office, the number of graduates from ordinary colleges and universities reached 7,270,000 in the entire country this year. In Guangxi there were 187,500 graduates from ordinary colleges and universities, a record high number. The large number of graduates naturally caused problems to appear in the employment apparatus. In order to cope with this seasonal employment problem, colleges in Guangxi have: adopted "economic aid", setting aside money annually to "create a guarantee fund" for poor graduates seeking employment; adopted "ability assistance", training in practical skills for poor graduates to increase their "capability" to find jobs; adopted "psychological assistance" using both group coaching and individual counseling methods to "build confidence" in poor graduates seeking employment; and adopted "position assistance" to provide uninterrupted information suitable for poor graduates to "find a way", in order to attain the goal of "a job for one person, help for one family, warmth for all".
In addition, the Guangxi Education Office requires all colleges and universities take timely action at the critical moment before graduates leave the school, to complete the work of making employment recommendations to poor graduates. Meanwhile, they hope all graduates will establish a correct attitude toward finding a job, to first find employment and then choose a career; to have the courage to take the jobs that society needs done and to refine themselves in arduous conditions; and to work sturdily and repay their debt to society.
Liuzhou Evening News, 2014-06-09, p. 8
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7. Minors Hire Hookers
Adventurous "Three Brothers" Caught in Act
Trainee Reporter Liang Jingjing, Correspondent Yang Zhengang, Dispatch to the Evening News
During the evening of May 29, on the 16th floor of the Central Communication Hotel on North Liberation Road in the city, 17-year-old Ah-Ding (a pseudonym) was frightened into a cold sweat by a sudden knock on the door. At that time he and two other "good bros" of approximately the same age were about to get it on with "young misses" they had just hooked up with. They hadn't counted on being caught red-handed by police officers who had rushed to the scene.
That evening around 9:20, Ah-Ding and his two "bros" had met as agreed at a certain bathhouse on the 11th floor of the Central Communication Hotel. They had heard that the bathhouse provided "that kind" of service. Although they knew receiving such services is illegal behavior, they wanted to "try it" anyway out of curiosity and boredom.
A chubby man about 30 years old greeted them when they arrived at the front desk.
After some bargaining, the man took 450 Yuan (≈$72) from each of the three men with the promise that they would be taken to the "open room" after paying. Then a female with dyed red hair and wearing a long pink dress came out of the room, with two other females behind her. They took Ah-Ding and the others to the 16th floor and opened two rooms. At this time, officers from the Tanzhong Police Precinct, who had received a tip from the public, had already gathered downstairs in the hotel.
A team of police rushed up to the 16th floor. Outside the room where Ah-Ding was, they knocked on the door and, when no one answered, they forcibly kicked it open. At this time, Ah-Ding and [one of] his "bros" were sitting huddled together on the foot of a bed next to the toilet. They were dressed in identical long-sleeved shirts and their faces looked immature. Two of the "young misses" were sitting on another bed and had not even had enough time to pull up the zippers on their skirts. A naked couple, a man and a women, were found by the police in another room.
The six people were then brought back to the police station. Investigation of Ah-Ding and the other boys revealed that two of them were 17 years old and the third was 16. They had either not found work after graduating from junior high or had dropped out of high school. None as yet has a steady job.
At present, the police have issued a decision that the 6 people be given administrative punishment.
Liuzhou Evening News, 2014-06-02, p. 3
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8. Road Rage Results in Knifing
Police Mediate ¥3,000 Compensation by Car Driver
Reporter Feng Bing, Correspondent Tang Jie, Dispatch to the Evening News
Because he was unhappy with the driver of a small car who had followed behind him continuously honking the horn, truck driver Chen hurled some curses at him. The two thus got into a fight. The car driver knifed Chen, injuring him, and then fled.
On the evening of April 16, Chen had just arrived at West Ring Road Junction in his truck. As he was getting ready make a right turn, he got a phone call from a friend. He saw that there wasn't much traffic, so he picked up the phone and accepted the call while he was driving. He slowed the truck down, which upset the driver of a small car that was following close behind him. The car driver laid on the horn to get Chen to speed up or move over.
Chen pulled to the right of the road so as not to block the car. At that time the car, which had been following him closely, pulled around in front of him and stopped.
"What do you think you're doing, stopping in front of me like that?" Chen saw that the car driver car was blocking his way and wasn't going to move, so he stuck his head out of the truck cab and shouted at the guy, "What are you doing?" The car driver didn't like Chen's attitude.
After the two men had hurled curses back and forth, the enraged car driver got out of his vehicle from the driver's side. He was carrying a knife and thrust it into the driver's cab of the truck. Chen's shoulder was slashed because he couldn't get out of the way. The car driver then ran quickly back to his vehicle and drove away.
Chen wrote down the car's license plate number and immediately called [the police emergency number] 110. By tracing the license number he Chen provided, officers from the South Station Precinct found the car driver involved in this matter. The car driver claimed he had acted under a sudden impulse and very much regretted his behavior in using a knife to injure someone. He sincerely apologized to the person he'd hurt. After mediation by the police, each side apologized to the other, and the car driver gave Chen 3,000 Yuan [≈$492] as compensation for medical expenses.
Liuzhou Evening News, 2014-05-06, p. 8
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9. Aunties Dancing in Plaza Fight over Territory
Dance Becomes "Martial Arts Competition"
3 Injured, Possible Perp Disappears, Cops Investigate
Trainee Reporter Yang Zhiwang, dispatch to the Evening News
Singing and dancing are essentially things that make people happy, but an argument over territory may lead some people to raise their fists in anger and disturb the peace. On the evening of July 18, in the plaza at Fish Peak Park, two groups of dancers had just such an altercation, resulting in injury to three people.
As your reporter understands it, the incident occurred about 100 meters from the Pegasus Police Precinct duty station. An officer on duty that evening told the story: Three teams dance in this square. Because they are close together, two of the three are constantly getting into arguments over territory. The police have often mediated between them but to no avail. When the disagreement occurred that evening, the police had just returned from settling an argument there. They had been back less than three minutes when someone called from there saying that someone had been beaten.
When officers arrived back at the scene, they saw that two teams of dancers had formed facing diagonal lines. They were jumping around, shaking their fists and shouting at each other. Whoever had had physical contact with the injured people had already fled the scene by then, and the officers had no way to ascertain the true facts.
The 3 injured parties said that a Madam Zhang from the other team had occupied most of the open space in the plaza for a long time. Sometime after 8 that evening, some of their team members had come there to dance and exercise as usual. "We only have a really small open space in the corner. They've come over and bullied us two out of every three days since May of this year. That night it was even worse. They shouted insults at us, and then a man about 40 years old elbowed his way into our team while we were dancing. This had a serious impact on us. We started quarreling with each other, and then he struck out at us brutally."
Ms. Zhang, the leader of the other team, had a different explanation for this. "We've danced here for seven years, and another team has been here for a long time, too. We've always gotten along, but there started to be quarrels right after they came. That night, because of a problem with where they put their speaker, my learners were bothered because the speaker was too close to us. A male learner went over to turn off their speaker and some old people started to beat on him. When my learner got scared and ran, that old man tried to grab him but got nothing but air, and fell down and hurt himself."
In order to understand the situation, your reporter spent several evenings in the plaza where the incident occurred looking for members of the public who know anything about it. A lot of people would say only that they knew an incident had occurred, but they didn't know exactly how the man had been injured. Some members of the public knew the details but didn't want to talk about it.
At the police precinct, your reporter learned that the two sides had agreed to come into the Pegasus Precinct at 3:00 p.m. on the 21st for mediation. Your reporter was there waiting at the appointed time, but only saw Ms. Zhang and 3 middle-aged or elderly people who had been injured. The police said that the matter cannot be mediated unless both parties to the incident are present. They would have to wait for the other party to come into the station before proceeding with mediation.
Currently the case is under further investigation.
Liuzhou Evening News, 2014-07-23, p. 2
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10. Their Own Voices Hotline
Hotline Duty Officer Yang Beibei
Graffiti in Public Places
Liuzhou News Network user "Beautiful Dragon City": I saw some dirty words written on a glass wall by the stairway in an underground passage near the Red Light Bridge, which someone had perhaps written there deliberately. A "graffitied" glass wall is ugly and affects the look of our city. I hope the relevant departments can control this forcefully, and clean up these dirty words as soon as possible.
Dangerous for Child to Stick Head out Car Window
Ms. Mo called yesterday: I saw something terrifying while driving in town on the morning of May 31: A black sedan in front of me was going about 50 kph when a young boy stuck his head out of the rear seat window and looked all around. It was really dangerous. Basically, there are a lot of vehicles on the road, and to prevent accidents, parents should teach their children not to stick their heads or hands out the window.
Liuzhou Evening News, 2014-06-02, p. 5
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11. People Watching Ball Game, Drinking, Cheering
Upstairs Neighbor Vents Anger by Throwing Brick
Police Have Made Several Late-Night Trips to Control Noise
Reporter Feng Bing, Correspondent Zhu Yong, Dispatch to the Evening News
The quadrennial World Cup soccer tournament gets a huge number of fans excited. This time around it happens that the World Cup matches are broadcast in the wee hours of the morning, so many fans like to go to after-hours places to have a few drinks while watching the games with friends. But this incites concerted football cheers, which angers residents who are trying to sleep at the time.
In the early hours of yesterday morning, the Consolidated Police Precinct received a complaint from a Mr. Li, who resides on Heavenly Mountain Road. "The after-hours place downstairs is too noisy. They're playing drinking games and shouting, and we can't get any sleep!" The Police sent officers to the after-hours spot on Heavenly Mountain Road, which is separated from a residential building by only a wall. Many of the stalls had put up big screen TVs to show the World Cup games. Customers were drinking while they watched the matches, and they would occasionally cheer when they saw something exciting. The officers gave the customers a warning, hoping that they would remember to control their emotions and their shouting, to interfere as little as possible with the residents' sleep.
Not long after the officers returned to the precinct, they received another complaint from the after-hours place. "Somebody upstairs is throwing bricks!" Customers related that, right when they were watching the game, a brick came flying down from upstairs, nearly hitting them. The conflict between the residents and those watching the game was becoming more intense. The police had to station guards at the after-hours place. Only then did the customers watching the game restrain themselves a little.
Your reporter learned from the Consolidated Police Precinct that during the World Cup, police have received multiple complaints arising from noise caused by watching the games. Police remind people watching the games that they should control their emotions and cries, lower the sound on their TVs, and close doors and windows, so as to disturb the sleep of residents upstairs and downstairs as little as possible.
Liuzhou Evening News, 2014-07-02, p. 3
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