Thalassemia screening

FREE prenatal screenings for thalassemia are being offered to pregnant women in Shenzhen starting this year, as long as either the expectant mother or father holds permanent residency in Shenzhen.

The eligible women will also be offered a free surgery to terminate the pregnancy if the fetus is diagnosed with thalassemia. The city has included the screening for thalassemia in the free premarital and pre-pregnancy checkups for residents since September 2012.

Tree planting

AROUND 10,000 residents participated in an activity to plant 6,000 trees in the Gongming Water Reservoir on Monday to welcome the 19th International Botanical Congress that will be hosted in Shenzhen in July.

The next tree planting activity will be held in a botanical garden in Pingshan District around mid-May. Registration for the activity is in progress.

24-hour manhunt

BAO’AN police recently busted a suspect that had attempted to flee to Yunnan Province after allegedly robbing a woman of a handbag containing an iPhone late Saturday night.

The suspect managed to get on a train bound for Yunnan the next day, but was eventually caught by police who drove for four hours from Shenzhen to Maoming where the train stopped at around 11 p.m. Sunday.

The suspect admitted to the robbery he had committed and is now being detained at Fuyong Police Station.