A GUEST of a four-star hotel was bitten by a scorpion when he woke up one morning, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported yesterday (Mar 27).

The guest, surnamed Su, from Qingdao in East China's Shandong Province, was in Guangzhou to attend a fair. He showed the reporter a picture he had taken of the 4-cm-long scorpion next to his swollen right leg.

"I was introduced by a friend to stay at the Jinyuan Village Hotel," Su said. "On Sunday morning, I was woken up by my mobile phone call. When I began to reach my mobile, I felt something bit me on my right leg. I saw a black-and-purple scorpion crawling on my leg when I lifted my quilt. I was horrified and thought it must be poisonous."

Su's colleague who was staying with him in the same room trapped the scorpion with an ashtray. They then called the service department to complain.

The desk manager, Li, soon took him to the Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. After treatment, Su was told he would have to wait 24 hours to find out about his condition.

Doctors from the hospital told the reporter that while scorpions were poisonous, the effect on Su was not clear. They asked him to rest for a couple of days.

"I came here to attend an important meeting and I have many contracts to sign. Time is precious for me," Su said, "And I disagree with the hotel's settlement. They said they won't charge me for one day's stay. I told them if I gave them 1,000 yuan (US$112), would they agree to be bitten by a scorpion? I just couldn't figure it out how a scorpion could come into the four-star hotel."

The hotel manager, surnamed Li, said the scorpion might have entered the hotel through a window. "There is also the possibility that the scorpion was left by a former guest." He said he would make sure it didn't happen again.

Editor: Wing