Did A Foreigner In Beijing Get This Public Beatdown For Attempted Rape? [UPDATE]


Youku video for those in China after the jump. UPDATES below.

A lot of anodyne videos pass through my inbox, from travel companies and tourists at the Great Wall and musical performances at bars. Occasionally I’ll get a gem. And then, because it’s the Internet, occasionally I’ll get something like the above — footage of a foreigner apparently getting beat up because he was sexually assaulting a girl — in public — whose calls for help were answered. As he lies on the ground, two camps form among onlookers: those who continue cursing him (including the guy who stomps on him) and those who urge restraint, saying, “Stop beating him, stop beating him.” The video stops when the police arrive.

The video, in Chinese, is called, “Foreigner, we’re going to beat you out of China,” posted yesterday. According to the Youku description, it was filmed opposite the Sogo Department Store, 100 meters south of the Xuanwumen subway station. It already has 1.32 million views.

Its veracity has not been verified, but Ministry of Tofu has uncovered the Sina Weibo page in which netizens discuss the incident. (The comment thread, now 1,357 deep, is not pretty.) One commenter says this was a scam perpetrated by the girl and, presumably, the man taking the video. Again, no one knows anything definitive. We’ll update you with more info as it becomes available.

UPDATE 1, 3:21 pm: The Beijing police department’s Sina Weibo posted at 11:27 am today that the man, who is from the UK, was drunk and in fact had approached the girl, and that passersby called the cops. The investigation is pending. Here’s RFH’s update.

UPDATE 2, 4:16 pm: Here’s the above-linked police notice, translated by Alicia:

Last night, on Sina Weibo, a drunk man harassed a female near Xuanwumen and was stopped by passersby. Video of the incident has captured people’s attention and led to inquiries.

According “Ping’an Beijing’s” understanding, on May 8, 2012, around 11 pm, a foreign male assaulted a female in public after drinking. After being discovered by passersby who stopped him and called the police, the police immediately rushed to the scene to arrest the male. Subsequently, police sobered up the male and are now holding him and investigating according to the law. The male is British, has a tourist via. At present this incident is being processed according to the law.

UPDATE 3, 4:56 pm: The British consulate in Beijing said they are aware of the story, but they have yet to be asked for assistance.

UPDATE 4, 5/11, 12:42 pm: Global Times has tracked down the man who first intervenes in the video. “When the girl screamed for help the first time, I thought it was a lovers’ tiff, but after she screamed ‘I don’t know this guy’, I realized something was wrong,” said the man surnamed Wu.

UPDATE 5, 5/15, 3:33 pm: The guys in the video seen assaulting the foreigner are going to be charged as well, according to RFH.

UPDATE 6, 5/29, 3:32 pm: After 20 days’ detention, he’s been deported and is currently on a flight back to Britain.

    27 Responses to “Did A Foreigner In Beijing Get This Public Beatdown For Attempted Rape? [UPDATE]”

    1. Justin

      Under Chinese law, if this man would have succeeded then he would have committed a capital offense. I understand that this was not his first time doing this, I sure hope that the Chinese government executes this sorry excuse for a man!

      Reply
    2. jtdj

      fake. for all the martial arts films that are produced in China, you’d think people could spot a badly staged fight.

      Reply
    3. Scott

      what do you mean, fake? you mean to say that the foreigner was set up and got his ass kicked or that everyone involved was in cahoots and the foreign guy was just “acting” as he got beat lying on the ground? I dunno, if the guy really was trying to rape the girl, I say kill the mother fucker. But something doesn’t make sense about trying to rape a girl in the open where everyone can see.

      Reply
      • jtdj

        After looking at this again scott, this looks real indeed. I was just suspicious because a lot is cut out. However it turns out the missing footage is because the guy filming joined in the altercation, and couldn’t do both at the same time. The foreign man seems drunk. Or maybe stupid. Or both.

        Reply
    4. yomama

      What is this guys name? I’m English and he has let us all down… what a stupid twat. cao ni ma indeed

      Reply
    5. Bobo

      something seems wrong here, why did she have her legs wrapped round him in the beginning ? she should have been kicking him off ! and the casual walk of the guy filming and his mate is a bit suspicious, if i so someone crying for help i wouldnt just casually walk over, especially if i have some support.

      Reply
      • china

        Its somehow suspicious, if you look closely, the guy has his pants on when the chinese comes near them.
        Its really suspicious..hmmm.
        Though if it was true, then the brit deserved wat he got.

        Reply
    6. zl

      “The video, in Chinese, is called, “Foreigner, we’re going to beat you out of China,” posted yesterday” , I do not find this title in Chinese. who tell you this title? Where you found this title?

      Reply
    7. AD

      This is stupid fucking bullshit. The violence is highly disturbing. I feel really sorry for the beating that this guy received, but he’s also a fucking idiot. The girl who was almost raped is an idiot, and given ANY pretext some Chinese men are horrendously violent, especially to a 老外。

      Reply
    8. Lao-Hu Long

      the only one who shown any decency is the old fellow holding that wild animal back, who clearly had some anger and possibly racism issues. we just dont know what happened and its ignorant to come to conclusions about it based on the video. both the western man and the chinese woman may have been drunk out of their minds, and that guy just jumping at the chance for violence. we just dont know.

      Reply
    9. Aspe

      I don’t know what were you guys thinking especially those who sympathize this drunk ass hole but for sure IF I were there, I would have kicked his ass harder, he deserves it!

      This unbecoming behavior is unacceptable no matter he is a foreigner or not.

      Reply
    10. starbucks_sg

      This clown deserves all the beating he can get. A hooligan like him should be jailed and sent home on the first plane upon release.

      Reply
    11. meanderer121

      It’s just too bad that the Chinese authorities didn’t take it too seriously when a British woman was molested by a Chinese man outside her apartment. Every abuse of a woman by a man should be regarded as a serious affair and the perpetrator should be sought, found and punished.

      Reply

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