BEIJING, Nov. 14 — Shanghai police have imprisoned a local resident for 10 days for throwing garbage into a neighboring residential complex.

    Police said the man, named Wang, was being held under the Public Security Administration Punishments Law. Wang is the first Shanghai man locked up for this even though he caused no physical injury to anyone.

    Police said yesterday that previously they had only locked up people who had thrown things from tall buildings and caused injury.

    Wang was caught by the hidden cameras set up in a neighboring residential complex.

    ”The camera caught him on his 19th floor home throwing objects into the neighboring complex on two consecutive nights last week,” said police officer Zhao Qi.

    Police investigations revealed Wang had done this more than twice, Zhao added. His conduct had seriously upset his neighbors which is why police decided to detain him.

    Police said as well as Wang, other residents living in Wang’s complex also threw objects from their high-rise homes expressing anger over the construction of the neighboring Jianxin Flat building.

    But since Wang was detained last Thursday no one has thrown anything.

    In the three years since construction of the Jianxin Flat building was completed, residents in Wang’s building have thrown beer bottles and other garbage into the Jianxin complex. Although no injuries have been reported, security guards patrolling the neighborhood at night have had to wear helmets.

    After a long time of ducking and dodging on patrol, the guards at last decided to give themselves some high-tech help and find out exactly who was the culprit. Wang was captured on camera the first day the gadgets were installed.

    Lawyer Liu Chunquan said the difficulty of a case like this is that it is hard to discover the culprit without a camera.

    In September, the Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court ordered a man named Tang to pay 310,000 yuan (US$41,800) for throwing a bundle of sacks from the fifth floor and killing a passer-by in 2004.

    A 2006 survey by the Shanghai Public Sanitation Bureau about bad habits in the city ranked throwing things from high-rise buildings at number two.

    (Source: Shanghai Daily)