Property rights are flimsy and developers can be devious in China.

Case in point is this shocking story, summarized by China Media Project (via @blakehounshell):

(2011-07-22) ― Writing in Liberation Daily today, columnist Liu Hongbo (刘洪波) discusses a curious recent case in Shenzhen in which hundreds of scorpions were apparently placed in the homes of families facing demolition and removal actions from property developers. Both sides of the conflict have been in a longstanding stalemate over compensation offered for the homes, which residents say is not sufficient. While pointing out that it is still not clear who exactly planted the scorpions in the homes — residents report seeing "unidentified men" — Liu Hongbo discusses the need for better mechanisms to uphold the rights and interests of the weak against the strong in a society that right now has no basic sense of fairness.