A demand for money costs a groom his bride. Afraid of having to abandon his turtle at the airport, a boy hides his pet in his underwear. And a university student gambles with his tuition and loses to fraud.

Daughter's weight loss hits family financially

A family in Suzhou has spent a large sum to treat their 24-year-old daughter, who became very thin and experienced health problems after adopting a weight-loss diet.

The daughter, whose weight fell from 55 kg to 39 kg, had severe constipation, a poor appetite and deteriorating body functions, Yangtze Evening News reported. She started the diet in 2008 upon completing spinal treatment. The family has spent nearly 400,000 yuan ($65,000) since 2007 on treatment for her spinal problems.

Related: Top 10 things to never do when dieting

Boy hides turtle in his underwear

An 8-year-old boy hid a pet turtle in his underwear while waiting for a security check at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Guangzhou Daily reported on Sunday.

The boy hid the turtle after his grandmother told him he had to abandon it, as pets are forbidden on planes. A security guard found the turtle and promised to take care of it until his parents came to collect it.

Related: Gimmick boy could have killed building maintenance worker

 

 

College student loses tuition in chess fraud

A college student lost his tuition fees in a chess fraud before the opening of new semester, reported chinanews.com.

The university student in Southwest China's Chongqing was caught in a chess scam in which the fraudster lured him with high prizes for winning a game of Chinese chess. The student lost his entire tuition fee of 10,000 yuan ($1,628) in less than an hour.

Related: Wife eager to save husband swindled

 

Groom bails out on demanding bride

A man who arrived to take his fiancée home to be married found it was not as easy as he thought it would be, reported Taiyuan Evening News on Monday.

A groom in Shanxi province was denied entrance at his wife-to-be's door for not paying the gift money of 9,999 yuan ($1,628) – a sum apparently beyond the man's expectation – required by the bride's family. After a fruitless negotiation between the matchmakers of both sides, the ashamed groom turned away in anger.

Related: Would you give a dowry?

Car thieves use patriotism as pretext

A car theft gang targeting Japanese-made vehicles pleaded not guilty, arguing their crime is a kind of "boycott of Japanese goods", reported sina.com.cn.

A gang member said the group turned its eyes on Japanese brands after seeing news that theft of Japanese-made vehicles is not wrong and asked for lenience in the court. The gang took 46 Honda cars across Hunan province,

The culprit was given life imprisonment on the theft charge and seven others were given lesser punishment.

Related: East China graverobbers jailed