Welcoming the new year with laughter

THE clock is ticking fast to welcome 2020 and I have compiled some funny incidents that took place in China for you to end the year with a smile.

Let’s start with stories of dumb thieves.

A man landed himself in the lockup after breaking into the logistics office of a hospital in eastern Anhui province during Chinese New Year.

He entered the room via a window, and when he jumped inside, he was welcomed by four policemen.

Apparently, the room had been used as a temporary base for police on standby for the festive period.

In neighbouring Jiangsu province, a man was spotted by surveillance cameras stealing an electric bike.

He then abandoned the vehicle and fled upon noticing the CCTVs.

The story, however, did not end here.

Soon after, one man – wearing the same outfit as the one caught on CCTV – showed up, but this man had a paper bag covering his head. As expected, he was arrested.

Just last month, two men attempted to steal valuables in a bus chartered by a group of policemen.

Police officers from Xishuangbanna region were heading to Kunming city in Yunnan province, some 500km away, for a training course.

When they were taking a break at a highway rest area around 3.30am, they spotted two men behaving suspiciously near their bus and soon, one of the men boarded the vehicle.

When they rushed over, the “onlooker” ran away while the one inside told police he was looking for his girlfriend.

The suspect was handed over to the local police for attempted theft after one of the cops found his cellphone “mysteriously” on his colleague’s seat.

Back in Anhui province, a 71-year-old retiree had unintentionally helped police bust a prostitution ring after he complained to the police of the unreasonable price hike for the services offered.

The man was also arrested for solicitation, but due to his age, police did not take further action and released him later.

In the same province, a wanted person scored the title of being “The Happiest Suspect in China” for keeping a smile on his face throughout his arrest.

He also repeatedly thanked the police.

The man was wanted for a theft case in 2007, and had been on the run ever since.

For the past 12 years, he had tried to maintain a low profile and avoid conflicts with other people, for fear of catching police attention.

Due to this, he had developed a habit of smiling and thanking everyone he had come across.

In Henan province, a young man was picked up for drunk driving at a traffic police roadblock.

When he was taken to hospital for a blood test, he called his father for help only to find that his father was also there, and also for the same examination.

Both were detained at the same spot for the same offence, just eight minutes apart from each other.

In Shanghai, a grandfather drove a toy kart belonging to his six-year-old grandson onto the busy road.

After his arrest, he told police that he was playing with his grandson when his office called him to settle an urgent matter.

Without a second thought, he jumped into the kart and headed straight to his workplace about 300m away from his neighbourhood.

The grandfather was slapped with a 1,000 yuan (RM600) fine and the toy kart was impounded.

And now a reversal of fortune.

Being poor can sometimes lead to a moment of good luck.

At least that was what a woman from southern Guangdong province went through.

She was robbed at knifepoint while withdrawing cash from an ATM.

After she handed over the 2,500 yuan (RM1,500), the robber demanded more.

The woman slotted her card into the machine again and showed him that her bank balance was nearly zero.

The robber laughed and returned the cash to her before walking away.

In Sichuan, members of the public called the police when they saw a body in a pond.

But the police were puzzled when they heard the retrieved body “snoring”.

When he woke up, the man, in his 60s, said he fell into the pond the night before.

“I was too drunk and could not wake up, ” he added.

His body was bloated after being soaked in the water for too long.

In the northern region, a man was beaten up at a karaoke lounge in Heilongjiang for bad singing.

Just as he was singing, a customer from a nearby table walked up to him, telling him that his singing was awful and asked him to stop.

He ignored the request and a fight ensued. The “singer” and a friend suffered minor injuries when they were attacked by angry customers.

Meanwhile, what was supposed to be a joyous occasion ended up all wrong at the graduation ceremony of Jilin Animation Institute.

After receiving his certificate, an estatic student went to hug his principal on the stage.

He lifted the principal in his arms and tried to turn around, but lost his balance.

Both fell down but rest assured they were unhurt.