Elderly Man Hits Young Woman For Not Giving Up Seat In Beijing Metro, Detained

A troubling incident unfolded in Beijing, China when a 64-year-old man was detained following a heated argument with a young woman on a metro. The video of the incident has gone viral showcasing the man demanding the girl to give up her seat. When she refused to give up her seat, the man resorted to shouting at her and striking her with his cane, according to a briefing issued by Beijing police, as quoted by Global Times.

The disturbing incident reportedly happened on the Beijing Subway’s Line 10. The viral footage shows an elderly man asking a young woman to vacate her seat for him. She declined stating she would offer her seat to someone else but not to him. The situation escalated when the man used his cane to sweep between her legs as depicted in the footage.

The elderly man in the video confronted the woman questioning why she refused his request to sit down. “What’s wrong with me asking if you can let me sit?” he said. He adamantly stated that he was not forcing her to give up her seat for elderly individuals while pointing his hand at the woman and pushing her hand, as reported by the portal.

Amid the escalating tensions, the man became agitated and swept his cane towards the middle of the woman’s leg. He said, “Call the police, we’ll go to the police station, and you can say I’m harassing you.” Subway security personnel were also seen intervening in an attempt to mediate the dispute as captured in the clip.

Later, Beijing police detained the elderly man involved in the incident which reportedly occurred on June 24. The man faced widespread condemnation from social media users after the video surfaced.

One user commented, “Embarrassing. That guy is a clown,” while another added, “That old man needs to chill.”

A viewer remarked, “Even the ability of being polite is a choice.”

Another user pointed out, “What am I missing here? There’s a spot next to the girl. Just looks like a grouchy old man who should have never put his hands on her…”

An individual sharing their contrasting experience wrote, “Not typical in China. My wife and I (late-70s Americans) visited my daughter in China for a month. On boarding a public transit bus for the 3 hour ride back from the Great Wall to Beijing we had more than a few people get up from their seats and insist we sit while they stood for the entire 3 hours. I kept insisting they take a break and sit for a while but they would not hear of it.”

What do you think of the spat?