Beggars leaving Beijing subway after fare rise and panhandling crackdown

Beggars in the Beijing subway stations can easily earn about 5,000 yuan (HK$6,340) a month, but a fare increase and crackdown by authorities on panhandling has forced some to try their luck elsewhere, the Beijing Youth Daily reports.

Police said that one person who pretended to be disabled bought two houses with the money he collected from begging.

Another beggar at the Beijing West Railway Station was able to send back 10,000 yuan each month to his family in Jiangsu,  the report said.

But Beijing increased ticket prices this month, and begging has been banned in subway stations and on trains since May 1, with offenders facing fines of 50 yuan to 1,000 yuan.

The authorities have also started to charge people who stay inside stations for more than four hours.

Since the start of the higher fares and stepped up checks to keep beggars out of the stations, some panhandlers appeared to have moved elsewhere, the report said.

There has been a sharp fall in panhandlers renting accommodation in Jinding Hill Village near Pingguoyuan Station, the report said. “The so-called Beggars’ Village may become history,” it said.

Despite making decent money, many beggars opted to live in cheap housing, paying as little as 200 yuan a month for accommodation, it said.