Just one day after a bomb blew up in the men's room of a McDonald's in Xi'an, a KFC outlet in the city was closed down yesterday for nearly two hours by a bomb scare.
It was the second such hoax at a fast-food restaurant since Saturday.
The KFC outlet reopened a little after noon yesterday after local police concluded the threat was a "practical joke."
About 10 am yesterday, an anonymous caller told the 110 police hot line that a bomb had been planted in the KFC outlet. The call was made from a public phone, police said.
Police officers quickly arrived at the Chang'an Road store, cordoned off the restaurant and evacuated diners.
About an hour later, explosives experts arrived. But they didn't find the alleged bomb.
The restaurant, neighboring a large shopping center in a bustling area in southern Xi'an, resumed business at about 12:30 pm.
On Sunday afternoon, a bomb went off in the men's room of McDonald's Gulou shop in downtown Xi'an, but no casualties were reported.
According to police, the home-made explosive went off around 3:50 pm.
About 6 pm, the restaurant resumed normal business with no noticeable changes in the number of customers.
About 2 pm on Saturday, another McDonalds' outlet, not far from the Gulou shop, received a phone call similar to the one KFC got. No explosives were found.
(eastday.com June 17, 2003)
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