Teen bitten by piranha in water fountain

HONG KONG (AP) – A Hong Kong teen-ager reached into a fountain hoping to scoop up a fish but ended up being bitten by what turned out to be a man-eating piranha, officials said Tuesday.

The 14-year-old boy required three stitches to his left index finger but was not seriously injured in the attack early Monday morning, Housing Authority spokeswoman May Tham said.

A cleaning crew drained the fountain the next morning and found it had contained two piranhas – apparently pets that had been abandoned in the fountain at a public housing project.

Ming Pao Daily News ran a photo of the dead piranhas and one of the boy, with his left hand in a sling and blood on his short pants.

Tham said she did not have the boy’s name.