Bomb rips French market in China

AP: A bomb blast at a Carrefour discount store in southern China injured at least one person in an apparent extortion attempt, a company spokesman said Tuesday.

The explosion Monday at the French chain's Hongbao branch followed an anonymous phone threat warning that a bomb would be detonated if cash demands weren't met, said Todd Wang, contacted by phone at Carrefour's China headquarters in Shanghai.

A customer was slightly injured in the blast, although Hong Kong newspapers said up to three people had been hurt, including at least one employee, Wang said.

He said police appeared to have arrested three suspects over the incident, but said he had no other details.

Hong Kong's Ta Kung Pao said similar phone threats had been received by three other stores in the same city of Shenzhen bordering Hong Kong. All were safely evacuated and no bombs found, the paper aid.

Shenzhen police spokesmen were not immediately available for comment.

A manager at the Hongbao Carrefour confirmed the incident, but declined to give details or otherwise comment on the incident. He said the store had reopened and was operating as usual.

"Now it is still under investigation by police," said the manager, who refused to give his name.

Carrefour SA, the world's second largest retailer, operates 70 hypermarkets in 27 Chinese cities.

Explosives, often homemade, are widely available in China and frequently used by criminals in place of guns, which are tightly controlled. Similar extortion attempts have been reported, and a Chinese court in 2001 ordered the execution of a mine worker who bombed a supermarket, injuring 27 people.