New | Outrage as Chinese woman tells of police, hotel staff’s inaction after dramatic near-abduction in Beijing hotel
According to Wanwan, hotel employee watched on as she was attacked outside her room and police said matter wasn’t under their purview
The story of a woman who says she was brushed off by hotel staff and police after she was nearly abducted in a business hotel in Beijing has triggered outrage among mainland internet users.
The woman, who recounted the incident online under the alias Wanwan, said she was attacked by a man along the corridor of a branch of the Yitel hotel in Beijing’s 798 Art Zone on Sunday.
According to Wanwan, a hotel employee who witnessed the attack – which was also captured on surveillance camera – stood watching but did not help her fend off the attacker.
She said the hotel and the police brushed her off after the narrow escape. The former’s manager was not reachable by phone the next day, while the police on the 110 line said the issue was not “under their purview”, she said.
Stories about indifference from passers-by when people are in need are often reported in China, but rarely draw as much attention and anger as Wanwan’s.
The weibo page for the “girl attacked at Yitel” hashtag, created on Tuesday morning, had drawn 1.4 billion views and 1.8 million comments by yesterday evening.
Internet users slammed the hotel and the police and many said they would boycott hotels under the Home Inns Group, Yitel’s parent company.
The outcry prompted Home Inns to issue two statements and apologise publicly. Beijing’s police authorities also responded, saying it was conducting a “thorough investigation” into Wanwan’s complaint.
Wanwan said her attacker tailed her into the hotel, followed her into the lift and along the corridor, then set upon her as she fumbled for her room key.
Surveillance footage showed the man trying to drag her away and pulling at her hair.
Wanwan said a hotel employee came upon hearing her screams, but thought they were a couple having a tiff and merely instructed them not to fight there. He made no effort to stop the attack even after she begged him for help, insisting that she did not know the man.
Several guests also walked by during the attack, which went on for about five minutes.
She was rescued by a woman hotel guest, who grabbed her arm as she was being pushed into a dark stretch of the corridor.
Wanwan said the hotel manager appeared only after the attacker had left. The manager could no longer be reached by phone the next day, she said.
Police checked the surveillance footage and took statements. But when Wanwan contacted the local station to follow up, she was told investigators were away. She called 110 but was told that the issue was not “under their purview”.
The general manager of Yitel’s northern China branches admitted there were problems in the hotel’s security management and vowed to make changes.
