Charges over 'abandoned' NY girl

The case captivated New York after images of the girl emerged

A New York cabbie who took an infant to a fire station claiming it had been left in his cab has been charged with lying to help friends abandon the baby.

Klever Sailema, 44, had been hailed when he dropped off the six-month-old girl on Thursday, in a case that caught the city's imagination.

He initially told police a man had got into his cab carrying the baby, but had vanished after asking him to stop.

Police now say Mr Sailema was helping a family that could not cope with her.

Officers say that a day after Mr Sailema dropped her off at the fire station, they learned that the baby's mother was a 14-year-old girl from the Bronx district of New York.

Feeling terrible

The family allegedly decided to abandon the child when the teenager ran away from home after a violent row with her father.

Mr Sailema says he never meant any harm

Police say Mr Sailema became involved because he was dating the sister of the baby's father.

Investigators believe she persuaded the driver to help the overwhelmed family.

Mr Sailema have been charged with filing a false report.

In an interview published on Sunday, he told the New York Post newspaper that he was only trying to assure the baby's safety.

"It wasn't my intention to hurt anybody," he is quoted as saying.

"Every time I lied, I though it would end there. I felt terrible."

The baby, who has not been named, has been placed in a foster home.

Man sets off fireworks in police station

BEIJING: A Chinese telecom company official, known for his philanthropic services, allegedly ransacked a police station along with seven others and injured 12 cops after he was instructed not to set off fireworks in connection to the Spring Festival.

The general manager of a telecom company, and others were persuaded by police at Dazhou in Sichuan province not to burst crackers in front of a complex as it was a forbidden area, local public security said.

However, the man was seriously offended by the police's refusal to allow fireworks, it said.

As police took away another person who lit crackers, the man was enraged further and took some others along with him, smashed the door of a police patrolling car and led them into the police station, breaking the furniture and beating police officers, the bureau said.

Twelve police officers were injured in the attack, including a woman official who fainted after being badly beaten, official Xinhua news agency said.

All were arrested for violently disturbing the police from executing public duties, it said.

The man, Zhang Jiuyuan was chosen as "2006 Top Ten Star Philanthropist" of Sichuan Province in 2007 for donating money for rural infrastructure construction and undergraduates. He was also nominated as "Top Ten Star Philanthropist" of Dazhou city in January.

Many Chinese cities including Dazhou have lifted the ban on fireworks.

The Dazhou government asked the public not to set off firecrackers in the downtown area before the Spring Festival holiday from Feb 7 to Feb 12.

Bursting crackers during the Spring Festival to drive away the evil spirits is part of the Chinese tradition.