The Odd Truth, June 7, 2004

The Odd Truth is a collection of strange but factual news stories from around the world compiled by CBSNews.com's Brian Bernbaum.

Faked Seizure Scares Robbers

HONG KONG - An Australian man visiting a southern Chinese city scared off robbers demanding the security code for his ATM card by faking an epileptic seizure.

Tom Beckett was lured into a dead-end alley by two women who said they would take him to a DVD shop in Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong. Five robbers then showed up and took him hostage in a nearby building, the Sunday Morning Post reported.

After finding an automated teller machine card on Beckett, the robbers asked for the number, but Beckett, with his mouth taped, feigned an epileptic seizure, the report said.

The robbers tried to treat him by pouring water over him and massaging his chest - but only after taking his watch and cash, the Post reported.

"They obviously didn't want dead meat on their hands," Beckett was quoted as saying.

The robbers then escorted Beckett out of the building and set him free.

In Montana, Bald Is A Color

HELENA, Mont. - Bald is a hair color in Montana.

Montana's Web site lists "bald" as an option when applying online for a fishing license.

"It's always been there, but before when you applied for a license at a sporting goods store, the person filling out the license just checked the appropriate box," said Rich Olsen, general manager of the state's site, Discovering Montana.

You also can choose to declare your shiny pate on your driver's license.

"It's a newer option, along with other hair colors, such as sandy," said Patrick McJannet, manager of field operations for the state Motor Vehicle Division.

The Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks doesn't keep track of how many people admit to being folliclely challenged, said Neal Whitney, one of the agency's computer specialists.

Man Helps Duck Stuck In Muck, Runs Out Of Luck

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. - A duck stuck in muck up to his nuck, er, neck, was rescued by a 73-year-old man in hip waders who then became stuck himself and had to be extracted by emergency personnel.

Because of low water levels, the pond that ensnared the duckling had turned into a muddy quagmire. When Walt Lutz heard a mother duck frantically quacking near the pond on his property Friday, he decided the duckling needed rescuing.

"The harder it struggled, the deeper it went," said Lutz, a retired account executive for Honeywell.

He pulled on his hip boots, grabbed a shovel and waded through the muck to free the duckling. But soon Lutz also found himself stuck in the thigh-deep muck.

While he'd freed the duck easily, he couldn't free himself after a 20-minute struggle. Despite his protests his wife called 911.

Using 10-inch-wide planks, police and ambulance personnel formed a frame around Lutz, attached a belt to him and pulled him out.

"I just did what I thought had to be done," he said later.

Isn't There A Movie About This?

WESTON, Conn. - Max Miesel didn't get very far with his prom date - who's a porn star. Max won a date with adult film actress Tyler Faith on Howard Stern's show Friday. Max is a student at Connecticut's Weston High School. The Advocate of Stamford reports school officials and Max's parents stepped in before Saturday's prom. Max said his dream was to take a porn star to the dance. But it was dream unfulfilled. Weston High Principal Mary Kolek says a date with a porn star violates the school's prom guidelines. Kolek said Max would be allowed to attend - with a more appropriate date.

It's Hard To Lose A 9-Foot Fish, But They Did It

LONDON - Police in southern England who let a 9-foot long sturgeon slip through their fingers after its alleged illegal sale said Saturday they have relocated the fish.

Devon and Cornwall Police said they were treating the catch as a crime exhibit but believed it eventually would be given to the Natural History Museum in London as an extremely rare specimen of a British-caught sturgeon.

Fisherman Robert Davies netted the 264-pound fish - nicknamed Stanley by British newspapers - off the coast of south Wales on Wednesday. He offered it to Queen Elizabeth II in keeping with a tradition that classes sturgeon as royal fish and requires anyone having caught one to offer it to the monarch.

But after Buckingham Palace sent Davies a fax informing him that he could "dispose of it as he saw fit," he traveled to Plymouth to auction the fish, whose eggs are sold as caviar.

Sturgeon caught in British waters, however, is protected as an endangered species and its sale is illegal. Anyone found guilty of selling the fish could face up to six months in prison or a fine of up to $9,000.

After being alerted by officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Plymouth police moved in Thursday to seize the sturgeon, which had already been sold, a police spokesman said. British media reported that a local fish wholesaler paid some $1,100 for it.

Officers were in time to prevent its removal and took pictures of the animal, but when they returned to the fish market after arranging for its storage, they discovered that the sturgeon had vanished.

Police said Saturday that they have since found the fish, but refused to disclose its location, saying only that it was being looked after somewhere near Plymouth.

"We now know where the fish is," a spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said. "It might be evidence of a crime. We're still investigating to see if any offenses were committed."

He said he believed the fish would eventually go to the Natural History Museum.

Pickpockets Pose As Interpol Officers

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - A gang of pickpockets posing as Interpol officers in Malaysia's largest city has stolen more than $45,000 simply by stopping tourists and telling them to hand over their wallets, a newspaper reported Friday.

The gang asked for the victims' wallets or purses on the premise of looking for drugs, The Star reported. Finding none, the fake officers apologized for the inconvenience and let their victims go - after surreptitiously stealing any cash or valuables.

The paper, citing unnamed police officials, said the thieves operated in the Kuala Lumpur tourist and shopping district known as the Golden Triangle and had struck 34 times since early this year.

Well-dressed and riding in rented cars, the gang cruise the streets between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. looking for foreign tourists, the report said. They flash false Interpol identity cards and, after robbing them, tell them to enjoy their stay in Malaysia before driving off.

Police have stepped up patrols in the Golden Triangle to try to catch the gang, which has so far evaded police by keeping on the move and regularly switching cars, the paper said.

A police spokesman was not immediately available to confirm the report.