Shelter says reporter had to be restrained
By Xu Chi |
January 11, 2013, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE Changsha Shelter Center, where a reporter claimed he had been beaten up while posing as a homeless man, yesterday said he had refused to let officers search his pockets so a security guard pressed him to the ground in case he attacked them.
On a Weibo account yesterday the center answered questions raised by netizens about the incident reported in the Sanxiang City Express, a newspaper based in central China's Changsha City.
The center again denied that the reporter had been beaten but only restrained for safety concerns.
The director of the shelter had earlier told a press conference that officers had "physical contact" with the reporter because he appeared to have mental problems. The center said yesterday that a psychiatrist working for the shelter would attend to homeless people to see whether they are suffering mental diseases, according to its regulations.
At Wednesday's press conference, Huang Zhimou, the director, said the reporter had "excitedly" rushed to the shelter's office with something bulging in his trouser pocket.
Huang said that the man seemed to have lost control and was refusing to tell the officials what was in his pocket, according to news website Rednet.cn.
Huang said that the shelter workers had to hold both his hands to check his pockets as they feared he was carrying dangerous weapons, but he denied the reporter's claims that they beat him violently and pressed their knees against his head.
Dai Peng, the reporter, had said three people at the shelter kicked him to the ground, held his hands behind his back, and trampled on his body so hard he could not move or even take a breath.
Dai told reporters yesterday that he had been diagnosed at a local hospital to be suffering from mild concussion after the incident.
He said he hid a recorder in his trouser pocket, but the device was only a little bigger than a normal lighter so it would be very hard for anyone to see it from outside.
Dai said he was trying to find out why homeless people would rather stay out in the cold, under bridges or in underground tunnels, rather than go to the warm government shelter.
A five-minute video recorded by a surveillance camera at the shelter was posted online yesterday, showing several officers pressing Dai on the ground.
One could be seen holding his hands behind his back, while another was pressing his knees against Dai's body.
According to the newspaper, Dai begged them to stop and asked if he could leave but the staff just pressed their knees to his head and told him: "Want to leave now? It's too late."
Huang denied that the officers said such words but added that they could not let him go immediately as regulations said homeless people with mental problems couldn't refuse their help or leave the shelter.
Huang said there were many reasons why homeless people were reluctant to go to the facility, one of which was they had "got used to their vagrant life."
Changsha civil affairs authorities investigating the shelter.
On a Weibo account yesterday the center answered questions raised by netizens about the incident reported in the Sanxiang City Express, a newspaper based in central China's Changsha City.
The center again denied that the reporter had been beaten but only restrained for safety concerns.
The director of the shelter had earlier told a press conference that officers had "physical contact" with the reporter because he appeared to have mental problems. The center said yesterday that a psychiatrist working for the shelter would attend to homeless people to see whether they are suffering mental diseases, according to its regulations.
At Wednesday's press conference, Huang Zhimou, the director, said the reporter had "excitedly" rushed to the shelter's office with something bulging in his trouser pocket.
Huang said that the man seemed to have lost control and was refusing to tell the officials what was in his pocket, according to news website Rednet.cn.
Huang said that the shelter workers had to hold both his hands to check his pockets as they feared he was carrying dangerous weapons, but he denied the reporter's claims that they beat him violently and pressed their knees against his head.
Dai Peng, the reporter, had said three people at the shelter kicked him to the ground, held his hands behind his back, and trampled on his body so hard he could not move or even take a breath.
Dai told reporters yesterday that he had been diagnosed at a local hospital to be suffering from mild concussion after the incident.
He said he hid a recorder in his trouser pocket, but the device was only a little bigger than a normal lighter so it would be very hard for anyone to see it from outside.
Dai said he was trying to find out why homeless people would rather stay out in the cold, under bridges or in underground tunnels, rather than go to the warm government shelter.
A five-minute video recorded by a surveillance camera at the shelter was posted online yesterday, showing several officers pressing Dai on the ground.
One could be seen holding his hands behind his back, while another was pressing his knees against Dai's body.
According to the newspaper, Dai begged them to stop and asked if he could leave but the staff just pressed their knees to his head and told him: "Want to leave now? It's too late."
Huang denied that the officers said such words but added that they could not let him go immediately as regulations said homeless people with mental problems couldn't refuse their help or leave the shelter.
Huang said there were many reasons why homeless people were reluctant to go to the facility, one of which was they had "got used to their vagrant life."
Changsha civil affairs authorities investigating the shelter.
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