Opinion | Beijing homeless sent packing after being 'robbed' by security officials

Beijing security officials have been accused of “stealing” coats and quilts from homeless people in harsh winter cold as they were being moved from a bus terminus on Saturday.

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A homeless man sleeps on a Beijing street in the middle of the winter. Photo: AP

Published: 3:21pm, 8 Jan 2013Updated: 4:20pm, 8 Jan 2013

Beijing security officials have been accused of “stealing” coats and quilts from homeless people in harsh winter cold as they were being moved from a bus terminus on Saturday.

Dozens of “unidentified” people, alleged to be public security and urban management officials, raided a bus station on Saturday afternoon to remove a group of homeless migrant workers, who were seen as a fire hazard and obstruction to traffic, according to the Legal Daily.

Witnesses in the area near Beijing’s Yongdingmen reported hearing several people scream “robbery!” as coats, quilts, shoes and even packs of instant noodles were confiscated.

One homeless woman claimed to have lived in the bus station for nearly two years along with a group of 30 to 40 others.

“This is not the first time they have come to steal our belongings,” she said. “Most of us will be sent back to our home villages, but for those who do not have family members, they will have to stay here in Beijing.”

Government officials denied robbing the vagrants and claimed it was a matter of urban management and safety as they were “cleaning up” discarded items left behind by those who had already left.