■ China
Fake Sun Yat-sen in scam
A con man took advantage of his resemblance to Sun Yat-sen, father of the revolution that toppled China's last emperor in 1911, to dupe a few patriotic old people out of their money, officials said yesterday. Wang Jiancheng, 61, posed as Sun despite the fact the former Chinese president and national hero would be over 130 today, according to a statement from the Beijing Chaoyang District government. As Sun, Wang claimed to have been living abroad "instead of having died in 1925 as the history books state," media said. Wang and accomplice Chen Meiying convinced six men to contribute a total of 240,000 yuan (US$29,000) to finance a "national investment project," the government said.
■ China
Two die in Web rage
Customers at an Internet cafe in Shanghai allegedly stabbed to death two employees after an argument over computer usage, local newspapers reported yesterday. The fight broke out around 1am on Sunday after a cafe employee told several customers they would have to buy membership cards if they wanted to stay overnight. Another employee attempted to mediate the dispute, but about 10 men drew knives and chased the pair into a bathroom where they stabbed them to death, the reports said.
■ East Timor
Warrant issued for Wiranto
A UN-backed tribunal yesterday issued an arrest warrant against Indonesia's former military chief and current presidential candidate General Wiranto for human rights abuses during the territory's bloody break with Jakarta in 1999. "The issuance of the Wiranto warrant is an important step in our continuing efforts to bring to justice those responsible for the violence against the civilian population of East Timor in 1999," said UN prosecutor Nicholas Koumjian in a statement released in East Timor. The warrant comes seven weeks after a special tribunal formally indicted Wiranto for command responsibility for "murder, deportation and persecution" during the events of 1999 in which at least 1,500 people died.
■ Hong Kong
Mall erects suicide barrier
An eight-story shopping mall where at least two people have jumped to their deaths has put up an anti-suicide barrier to stop any repeats, a manager said yesterday. "We don't want unhappy incidents to affect the shopping desire of our customers," said Gary Tse, manager of the popular Times Square shopping center in the bustling Causeway Bay district. Mall executives decided to raise the safety railings on the top three floors after a middle-aged man jumped to his death last month, following a similar suicide last year, Tse said.
■ Australia
Injured boy rescues father
A seven-year-old boy was hailed as a hero yesterday after he ignored broken ribs, a punctured lung and other serious injuries to walk 2km through bushland to get help for his badly hurt father. Tyler Moon and his father David were both seriously injured when they flipped over on a quad bike while riding near their home in southern New Wales State on Saturday, rescue officials said. David Moon, 39, was trapped under the bike with chest injuries while Tyler suffered broken ribs, abdominal, arm and internal injuries when he was thrown from the vehicle. Despite his injuries, Tyler stumbled 2km to the family home to raise the alarm, with his fractured ribs puncturing and collapsing a lung as he walked.
■ Poland
Live ammo in football riot
RSS