Mothers use their own children to beg in gangs in subway
Updated: 2015-07-28 15:34
(chinadaily.com.cn)
|
||||||||
The mother holds her child and shows its birth certificate to prove she's not been kidnapped. [Photo/IC] |
Two children featured online after police discovered them begging in a Nanjing subway had been instructed by their mother, the Yangtse Evening News reported.
An Internet user posted a comment claiming to have seen a boy singing and a girl, both later discovered to be from a county in Gansu province, who were found kneeling and kowtowing as they begged for money in East China's Jiangsu province last week.
Police found the boy, 6, and girl, ten, two days after the post went online. Many people were concerned that they had been kidnapped by adults and forced to beg.
According to the children, they were following instructions from their mother, who contacts them by mobile phone. The mother appeared and admitted making them beg.
She claimed the children are her own and offered a birth certificate and household registration as proof.
The mother said she had taught them how to sing and beg, playing on subway passengers' sympathy and contacted them later to collect the money.
There are no strict regulations surrounding begging and adults who solicit money are lectured or fined by police. Fines are very little compared to how much money they can make.
Some beggars are connected to organized gangs and team up to cover different areas. They carry no more than 100 yuan to avoid unexpected inspection and confiscation. Money received is passed to their handlers after it is collected.
According to data from subway police, beggars can earn 400 to 500 yuan ($64-81) a day and easily take more than 10,000 yuan a month.
Between May 1 and June 30, most of the 480 begging incidents reported in the Nanjing subway were related to mothers using their children in gangs. They came from Min county, a remote area in northwestern China, more than 1,600 kilometers away.
Xiaozhai town in Min county, Gansu province has a notorious reputation as a "beggar town", according to earlier reports. In the past, people from Xiaozhai begged because they lived in poverty. Now it is a common way to make a lot of money. The beggars use many methods, dressing poorly, faking disabilities, singing badly or carrying children, they try to win more sympathy.
- Elvis Festival pays tribute to the King of Rock 'n' Roll
- Four-color rice turns paddy field into artwork
- Images capture modern life of a warrior monk
- The world in photos: July 20 - 26
- Amazing landscape of China in white and black
- Across America over the week (July 17- July 23)
- Unusual but true: 'Love' conquers all
- Six dead as rainstorms wreak havoc in China
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
Seventh China-US strategic dialogue |
Premier Li embarks on Latin America visit |
What do we know about AIIB |
Full coverage of Boao Forum for Asia |
Annual legislative and political advisory sessions |
Spring Festival trends reflect a changing China |
Today's Top News
Beijing condemns Somali attack, mourns deaths
China eyes deepened cooperation with overseas NGOs
Monster Hunt breaks Chinese box office record
Olympic bid panel cites city's merits
Astronomers discover most Earth-like planet yet
Seattle Chinatown leader killed in shooting
Flight details of Obama's Kenya trip leaked
2 killed, several injured in Louisiana theater shooting
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |