GOD fear the whistleblower, China’s Liu Yougang, 23, who swallowed a plastic whistle when he was 9-years-old. For 14 years, whenever he slept, his breathing would create a whistling sound.

On the upside, Mr Yougang could whistle along to Les Misérables without having to purse his lips; be able to alert footballers to an incident of foul play without missing a beat; and lighten the mood in time of trauma and fear by nonchalantly belting out a easy listening version of I’m Gonna Leave Old Durham Town.

But now the whistle is out. Medics at he West China Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan Province on Monday have finally located the whistle and removed it.

Good news, then. And it might have been worse.

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