News You Might Have Missed: Subway Extensions, Airport Scams and a Sing-a-long Stabbing

There's good news and bad news when it comes to the city's transportation. The subway is expanding, but fake taxis are scamming airport arrivals. Some other headlines that have grabbed our attention: a mass poisoning of pets in Hebei, a stabbing over singing, and a man who will have to get creative with some bottle caps.

Beijing's subway system is about to undergo a growth spurt. Four lines (and line extensions) are currently in the testing phase and are scheduled to open by the end of the year. They include:

• Line 6: An east-west line with stops at Nanluogu Xiang and Beihai North.
• Line 8: The Olympic Line will extend south to Guluo Dajie on Line 2.
• Line 9: The Beijing West Railway Station will finally be connected to the subway grid.
• Line 10: The south and west segments of the planned Line 10 loop. (The extension will open in 2012 but will not connect to the loop until late next year.)

Fake taxis continue to plague the city. A French man recently got stuck with a RMB 451 cab fare from Beijing Capital Airport to Xicheng District. People suspect airport workers are in on the scam. For some tips on how to spot the fake ones, check out our blog here.

An apartment complex in Hebei is under fire for spraying toxic chemicals on the grass throughout the compound. Forty dogs and 20 cats, both from the residential community as well as strays, have died from poisoning; the property management office is denying pretty much everything, including the right of the residents to post warning signs about the possibly poisonous lawn.

Bad singing can apparently be a motive for murder. A Yunnan man went to sing at a street karaoke at the town square. A stranger complained about the quality of his singing, got into a shouting match with him, left, and returned with a dozen people who stabbed the singer. There's no word on what song he was singing.

A man with his eyes on the prize bought more than 100,000 Coca-Cola bottle caps from workers at recycling stations hoping to redeem them for a decent payoff. Unfortunately, the company informed him that this number of bottles couldn’t possibly have been consumed by him alone, so he won’t qualify for any prizes. The caps are now expired and the man is out RMB 120,000 with only a load of bottle caps to show for it - maybe he can decorate his house.

Photo:weibo.com