A couple have caused an uproar online after they reportedly let their young daughter squat down to, uh… lay a cable on an East Rail Line train.
A video of MTR workers confronting the pair, who were travelling with two young children, was uploaded to popular Facebook page This is China 2016 yesterday morning with the title, “Yet another case of mainland people shitting in train carriages?”:
According to the video caption, a woman believed to be the girl’s mother “thought everything would be fine after she bagged up the poo, but the entire train carriage still stank.” In the clip, the toddler’s mum can be heard saying that her daughter had an upset stomach when the incident occurred.
The footage showed MTR staff asking the family to disembark the train, which the parents refused to do. “Why do we need to get off before our stop? She’s not pooping now!” said the girl’s father. When staff threatened to call the police, he accused them of bluffing. “Go ahead! I’m not scared,” he said. “I’m a Hongkonger.”
One of the MTR workers then appeared to take him up on his offer, and can be heard saying, “Ah Sir” (a common Hong Kong way of addressing male police officers) on his walkie-talkie before the video abruptly cuts off. It’s not clear what happened next.
Reactions to the video were largely negative, with many expressing their disgust at the scene. Others, while also repelled, were less surprised, alleging that such incidents had become commonplace on the East Rail Line due to its popularity with tourists visiting from Shenzhen.
“East Rail Line again! 90 percent of these cases take place on the East Rail Line,” one person said. “You really need a lot of courage to take the East Rail Line nowadays,” another commenter mused.
“Fine them HKD50,000 and see if they do it again,” another netizen suggested.
However, some people were more sympathetic. “Don’t be too harsh,” one person wrote. “Although I don’t agree with their general attitude, the kid was sick and they already took care of the mess.” Another commenter echoed the sentiment, saying, “If the child really couldn’t hold it in because she was ill, all we can do is sympathise.”
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