Chinese soldier uses bulletproof armour of rice!

BEIJING: A Chinese soldier fooled his superiors into thinking that he had survived a barrage of bullets in a simulated military exercise through the ingenious use of steamed rice, China's staple food, as body armour!

The People's Liberation Army ( PLA) has admitted that the "superman" soldier, who emerged unscathed after coming under a hail of fire during a training exercise was caught cheating.

The soldier who took part in an infantry combat drill held by Shenyang Military Region managed to avoid all "hits" registered by sensors on his uniform from the lasers mounted on "enemy" fighters' rifles, the PLA Daily reported.

It was later discovered that the soldier, whose name and rank were not given, had covered up the sensors dotted around his body with grains of steamed rice.

The cheating has led to a rethink of how the Shenyang region carries out its military exercises, it said.

Victory or defeat in drills will now be evaluated by how many problems or shortcomings in tactics, kit and other areas that troops can uncover, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.

A unit losing a major "battle" in a winter exercise this year were hence lauded as the victors by headquarters, the PLA Daily report said.

The PLA announced earlier this month that the navy's marine corps was to give training in areas such as team motorcycle riding and kung fu martial art.

They were often used as stunts during leaders' inspections and on military open days.

A military analyst said the shift to more useful exercises, including live-fire drills, was part of attempts by the world's largest army to improve the fighting capability of China's armed forces.

The PLA Daily said in October that poor military training posed a threat to the country's ability to fight and win a war.