Independent, 10 . 11 . 04 .
'Come bite me!' right...
A man leaped into a lion's den at the Taipei Zoo on Wednesday to try to convert the king of beasts to Christianity, but was bitten in the leg for his efforts."Jesus will save you!" the 46-year-old man shouted at two African lions lounging under a tree a few meters away. "Come bite me!" he said with both hands raised, television footage showed. One of the lions, a large male with a shaggy mane, bit the man in his right leg before zoo workers drove it off with water hose and tranquilizer guns.
Newspapers said that the lions had been fed earlier in the day, otherwise the man might have been more seriously hurt ... or worse. The man, identified only by his surname, Chen, suffered from bite marks on his arms and legs. 'He took this dangerous action because he imagined he heard voices,' psychiatrist Teng Hu-wen told reporters, saying his case was still being investigated.
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A F P N E W S , 22 . 10 . 04 .
'Treasure hunt' for bandit's loot
The-death of the Indian bandit Veerappan has sparked a treasure hunt for his riches, officials say. Police in the southern states have warned villagers to stay away from the jungle where Veerappan operated. He is believed to have stashed millions of rupees, including ransom money, in secret caves and holes in the forest.
Veerappan, India's most wanted outlaw, was shot dead by police on Monday after a 20-year manhunt. Many villagers and tribal people living around the forest began searching for the hidden loot soon after the bandit was buried on Wednesday, officials say. "We have seen groups of locals venturing into the forest looking for Veerappan's money," said local district administrator Ravindram. "Hopefully, they will lose interest in
due course," he is quoted as saying by AFP. The police chief in Karnataka state warned of action against anyone venturing into the forest. "We will keep a watch and if at all anything is found by treasure hunters, we will seize it and return it to the government," he said.
The bandit is believed to have hidden money he made through the poaching and smuggling of sandalwood and ivory and by collecting ransom after a series of high-profile kidnappings. In 2000, he held hostage a famous southern Indian film star, Rajkumar. A senior police official later said 300m rupees ($6.5m) had been paid to secure his release. But the actor and his family have always denied paying any ransom. But many say it will be very difficult to locate any of the loot which is hidden in 6,000 square kilometres of forest.
In a related development, Veerappan's widow Muthulakshmi has told the AFP that the police have frozen her bank accounts and seized money she received from her husband. Despite the bandit's death, the relatives of some of his victims say they still fear for their safety. The family of a retired policeman, Abdul Kareem, has asked for extra security because of fears of a backlash by remnants of the bandit's gang. Mr Kareem had led a campaign against granting parole to Veerappan's gang members serving time in jails during negotiations by the government to secure the release of Rajkumar from the bandit's custody. His son, also a policeman, was later killed in an ambush by Veerappan's gang.
PA N E W S , 26 . 10 . 04 .