Brother in trouble over severed arms

A MAN was detained after a bus station security scanner revealed he had his brother’s severed arms in his luggage, but police said he was unlikely to face criminal charges.

The 50-year-old was stopped in the city of Duyun in southwest China’s Guizhou Province last week, according to the Chongqing Morning Post.

Authorities initially detained the man, surnamed Zheng, on suspicion of murder.

However, he explained that the limbs belonged to a brother who was severely injured in an accident that necessitated the amputation of his arms.

Chinese traditionally believe all body parts must be buried together at death to ensure the person is “whole” in the afterlife. So the injured man’s brother was taking the arms back to their home village where they would be kept until his eventual death, the newspaper said.

The man was freed after police verified his account with the hospital where his brother was being treated.

A police spokesman said the man was unlikely to face criminal charges but could be fined.

Media reports said he would also have to find some other way to get the arms home.

Permits are typically required in China for the transport of human body parts but they are usually banned from buses for hygiene reasons, bus station staff said.