If you're a Chinese Communist Party official in the midst of the country's biggest corruption crack-down in memory, it might be a good idea not to keep a mini-zoo of illegally obtained Siberian tigers in your apartment. If some compulsion utterly forces you to have said tigers, then at least don't make them live in your roof. If they must live on your roof, at least don't light off fireworks all around them during New Years'. Sigh.
Three men, members of the Qingdao People's Congress, have been fined after a seven-month-old tiger cub jumped from the roof of one man's 11-story apartment building and died during Spring Festival. The loud noises of the fireworks reportedly caused the animal to panic, leading to the fall.
According to a bizarre account relayed by the South China Morning Post, the official was "helping a friend" who was the manager of a wildlife park, but who had run out of space.
"I'm just holding this for a friend" is what you say when your mom catches you with pot, not when police catch you with a bunch of tigers on your roof. Nevertheless, that's the official's story, and he's sticking to it. In total, eight endangered Siberian tigers were given out to the three officials, who held onto them despite lacking the proper paperwork (or, you know, any possible reason to own an endangered species).
Following the death of the cub, the other seven tigers have been rounded up by authorities who - it turns out - did have non-residential space for them after all. Two members of the forestry bureau have been sacked following these revelations, but the men who actually took the tigers - and held them for months, treated them god-knows how poorly and ultimately scared one so much it jumped off a roof - have just received a minor fine for the offense.
Each man was fined RMB3,000 - or about half the price of an iPhone 6 Plus. We're sure the officials were quivering in their little boots.
0 User Comments