Man in court over abusive mynah bird

A Chinese man has taken his neighbour to court because his mynah bird keeps verbally abusing him.

Li Deben told the court in Beijing that his neighbour, Mr Feng, encouraged his pet to squawk "Li Deben is a bastard," for several months.

Mr Li brought tapes of the bird in action to court and asked that Mr Feng be ordered to apologise and pay £150 in compensation.

There was laughter in the courtroom as the tapes were played.

The judge ruled the evidence was not strong enough to support Mr Li's case, reports the South China Morning Post.