Mosquitoes drive thief in hiding to surrender

A local court in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province was itching to sentence a man to a year in prison for theft after he had turned himself to police during a botched escape to the countryside.

Police were waiting for the 26-year-old suspect surnamed Li at his home on June 12 after he called his father from the nearby hills, saying he was injured from falling down during his escape and that mosquitoes were eating him alive.

A local court sentenced Li, a resident of Shenzhen town, Ninghai county, to one year in prison and slapped him with a 6,000-yuan ($980) fine for stealing a 520-kilogram head of cattle and a motorcycle estimated at 12,672 yuan ($2,071) earlier this year.

Neighbors say Li, who has a middle school education, had no interest in farming or finding a real job.