Swedes who work hard, play hard
THE Swedish Society held its first get-together in the new year on Friday evening at O'Malley's pub on Taojiang Road.
Air quality improves
SHANGHAI'S air quality took a turn for the better last week thanks to speedier winds and less frequent inversion (cooler air trapped near the earth's surface by warm air), according to the latest report from the Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Centre.
Baby sun bear born on New Year
A "SUN bear" cub born on New Year's Day in Shanghai Zoo is now in good health and under the special watch of zoo keepers.
21st Century English contest
FORGET millennium celebrations. Forget Y2K bug. "Prospects for the 21st Century" is the new topic for a new era.
Nike jerseys safe, TBT levels miniscule
NIKE (Suzhou) Co, wholly-owned subsidiary of Nike Co - a global giant in the manufacture of sports products - admitted yesterday 251 of its Borussia Dortmund soccer jerseys from Europe had been made with raw materials containing TBT, but emphasized all of its other products in China are made from safe substances.
Man stabs girlfriend to death
A MAN who confessed to hacking his girlfriend to death when she tried to leave him is now in police custody.
Socks appeal, or does size matter?
AN Acadian American I know has trouble with his socks. The size that is. He has a good grip on the ground, which was the polite way your maiden aunt had of saying you have very big feet. Plus he likes to walk - one of the world's best forms of exercise.
Jaywalkers arrested for violence
A TOTAL of eight jaywalkers who used violence against traffic police have been detained recently.
Man jailed for killing baby girl
A 21-YEAR-OLD man was recently arrested for strangling his infant daughter just after his girlfriend gave birth to the infant, according to Yangpu District Procuratorate.
Experts evaluate China's WTO entry
LOCAL experts seem to be pretty confident China's entry to World Trade Organization (WTO) will not have any immediate disastrous effects for Chinese banks.
From race course to People's Square
SHANGHAI was once known as a "Paradise for Adventurers." Few places could conjure up a more graphic picture of old Shanghai's decadence than the former horse race track on what is now People's Square.
Teachers wanted
LOCAL universities are going outside city limits in the search of the teaching talent needed to fuel Shanghai's economic takeoff in the new century.
Ex-couple in court over fraud
By Wan Lixin
HEARINGS began yesterday morning at Municipal No 1 Intermediate People's Court regarding Cai Linfen and Qiu Laifa who were suspected of being involved in a 62.96-million-yuan ($7.6 million) fraud. Cai and Qiu were also charged with diverting 9.28 million yuan ($1.12 million) of public funds to private use. At about 10:00 yesterday morning, 48-year-old Cai, all her hair turned to grey, staggered into the dock supported by two bailiffs. She was followed by 46-year-old Qiu, her ex-husband. According to court sources, in their capacity respectively as chairman of the board of directors and general manager of Shanghai Tianfu Real Estate Development Corp (Tianfu), from September 1995 to August 1998, Cai and Qiu had been involved in a series of frauds involving 72 houses and 62.96 million yuan ($7.6 million). In the frauds, the two suspects would sell and mortgage a given house to more than one entity in order to obtain cash or loans. The entities were mostly private buyers, banks and companies. The money obtained had been subsequently used in paying debts, serving loans and buying villas. From March to May 1996, Cai had bought two villas on Changle Road at 17.2 million yuan ($2.1 million). Then she spent 3.33 million yuan ($402,000) in decorating the villas. Cai was also charged with having diverted a total of 9.28 million yuan ($1.12 million) from Tianfu to Tiantian Restaurant, a very prosperous establishment under Cai's management from 1993 to 1995. In the court, both refused to admit they were guilty of the charges. "Our motive is not fraud. Our sale of houses had never led to two entities disputing over the ownership of a given house. It is a prevailing practice in operating real estate companies," said Cai. Qiu flatly refused he had anything to do with Tianfu, insisting the general manager title was non-existent. But he failed to provide a plausible explanation when he was questioned why he should submit his resignation as general manager towards the end of 1997. Cai and Qiu were divorced in December 1997. The hearings may last four days and it is expected to take some time before a verdict is reached.
Copyright 1999 by Shanghai Star. All rights reserved.