A Chinese stalker-turned-burglar fixed his neighbour's computer during one unsanctioned visit into her home, a Chinese court heard. A court in Harbin, in north-eastern China, dismissed harassment charges against Jin Bo after hearing how his unrequited love drove him into breaking into the unnamed woman's home five times between October and November this year, Chinese news agency Xinhua reports.

Local judges made the ruling despite hearing how the man was caught red-handed coming out of her apartment on 15 November with a key to her door, a bra, two photographs and her MP3 player, which he claimed was in need of repair. On other occasions he fixed her computer, washed her dishes and left a note that said: "Don't panic. I hope you can understand my feelings for you." He once sneaked into the woman's home while she was sleeping, only fleeing when she woke up.

"Jin said he loved her secretly, but couldn't muster up enough courage to speak to her. He placed a bet with his roommate that he would win her heart," Xinhua, which cites Shenzhen Daily as the source of the story, reports. The report gives no explanation of the love-struck Jin's defence so it's unclear how he managed to escape sanction over his alarming behaviour. ®