Compiled by EMALIN ZALANI, ALLISON LAI and R. ARAVINTHAN
A WOMAN had a bizarre mishap during the Chinese New Year celebration when she mistook a firecracker for a sweet.
According to China Press, the resident of Chengdu in China’s Sichuan province had bitten into what she thought was her favourite childhood milk candy, only to have it explode in her mouth, causing burns and leaving a gunpowder taste.
The woman, identified only by her surname Wu, reported no pain although her mouth was burned.
She was also surprised by the gunpowder “flavour”.
The confusion started when Wu’s brother brought home a bag of snacks.
Wu shared her experience and cautioned others about confusing packaging.
Her account sparked much online discussion.
Many suggested clearer labelling for dangerous items, noting that the confusion came about due to the similarity in packaging.
Some also expressed disbelief that firecracker packaging had become so attractive.
> Nanyang Siang Pau reported that an outbreak of respiratory diseases in China has led to a spike in severity and even death cases.
Reports in Taiwanese media said that Beijing’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has announced on its WeChat channel on Feb 4 that influenza A subtypes H1N1 and H3N2 are rapidly spreading and that it had led to outbreaks.
Similar issues were also noted in Liaoning and Shandong.
Many citizens also claimed that some crematoriums were overwhelmed.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
