Cleptos beware, if you happen to be suspected of thievery from a Wal-Mart in Jiangxi province, you might just end up beaten to death.
That is, at least, what happened to Yu Xiaochun a little more than a week ago. On August 30 the 37-year-old woman exited the Jingdezhen, Jiangxi, Wal-Mart and proceeded to her home 500m away. She was followed by five non-uniformed employees of the massive retailer. The employees allegedly suspected Yu of shoplifting and asked to see her receipt.
As they were not wearing uniforms, Yu questioned whether they were in fact employees and refused. The small gang then pushed Yu to the ground and beat her. She later died from the wounds inflicted.
Holy crap. I mean, holy crap. Having worked as a security guard (yes, yes… laugh if you will), where my job was presumably to stop theft (seriously, for min. wage, they were lucky if I stayed awake my entire shift) I cannot imagine taking my job seriously enough to follow someone off the property of my employer — never mind beating them to death!
Had this been in the rather litigious US and the employees merely intimidated Yu in any way, it would have been front page material. That they beat her to death is almost unfathomable. I mean, think about that. Most of us don’t have it in us to beat someone to death even if we are personally enraged by an insult or affront to our character. Most of us wouldn’t even be able to beat someone to death if they initiated physical harm on us (sit down tough guy, you’re exactly who I’m talking about).
So, can we consider for a moment what it must have taken for these five people to beat a woman so severely that she dies.
Wal-Mart, predictably, ignored this until they couldn’t and has to date only made the most superfluous statement:
The incident and cause of death is the subject of an investigation. The company is fully cooperating with the relevant authorities and will release further details as it is appropriate.
Obviously a corporation cannot be held responsible for the homicidal actions of the people it happens to employ, but that the murderous group were apparently “on company business” should at least require the retailer to step up and show a bit more compassion. That the woman’s family is seeking reparations from Wal-Mart, I feel is a bit of an opportunistic money grab. Please prove me wrong, but Wal-Mart didn’t actually tell the employees to attack people suspected of shoplifting, right?
Two of the group have now been arrested, while the other three have been released. I imagine a lot more is going to come out in this story, and I doubt that Wal-Mart will get out of it without a black eye. Follow the updates as aggregated at ESWN.
Now I’m well aware that I’m opening this issue up to grand-sweeping generalizations, but I can’t help to wonder about the type of country I live in and the effects that it has on the psychosis of individuals and groups alike. Could it be that a culture of detachment from those outside your family unit is, if not responsible, at least complacent of its own apathy? I keep asking myself what it takes for a group of five people to beat a helpless woman to death. When I find no answer I then can’t help but ask what it takes to stand by and watch it happen.
It’s not just the Wal-Mart stores within China that have beaten people to death, it’s also happened in the US on 2 different occasions; 2005 in Texas and 2008 in South Carolina.
I get the suspicion that there’s more to the story. I’m definitely not letting the perps off the hook but I wonder if the woman did more than question their position or if bystanders were somehow involved. I know there’s a lot of lunacy in China (as is everywhere else in the world) but this seems extreme, almost unbelievable. Of course who knows, maybe these dudes were just rabid dogs who got off the leash. Wal-Mart should offer the family compensation but shouldn’t admit to wrongdoing since the company wasn’t directly involved.
Just this week on the subway in Shanghai, I saw uniformed train police manhandle a blind man, and his guide who herself was battling muscular dystrophy. The guards themselves acted more like thugs than police/security guards would. The forcibly pushed the blind man and threatened the guide who was half his size and might even break if grabbed. When a woman tried to tell these security/subway police to be careful with both of their detainees. The more senior of the two began, cursing, and mono logging. Something about these scum of society, and the stupid people like us that give it too them. I think he used some other words, but the woman started to beat him with a newspaper. He looked like he was going to actually hit her until he notice myself and 3 other foreigners standing up and looking at this unfold. I watched the drama all the way to People’s Square, the unfortunate two was dragged off the train, paraded to the central desk where uniformed police awaited their arrival. I thought even the most down trodden of people here is considered to treated with the same type of respect you would treat anyone else. I should learn not to believe what you write.
Wow! I’ve actually been to that very Wal-Mart in the so called pottery capital of Jingdezhen. Glad I wasn’t drunk and looking for a five fingered discount or I may have wound up discussing my sins with Sammy Walton.
Dang man. That’s messed up. There’s so damn much pent up aggression here. People push you out of line at the train station, push you aside and take the taxi you’ve long been waiting for, no one gives even the slightest courtesy and meanwhile acts entitled to the whole of China for no other reason than they’re themselves. It’s no surprise that this kind of thing happens. It’s like the Nanjing lu beating that happened over a seat on the stupid trolly. I guess it’s what happens when people feel they have no control over their lives. Once the Gaokao hits they’re locked in for life, assuming they’ve got enough guanxi to land a good job and a ‘good’ spouse.
Chinese friends always tell me America is too dangerous because people have guns. I tell them the people with guns that you need to worry about probably have them illegally to begin with, same as China. I can only imagine China if they were allowed. You don’t have to do a thing and you’ll still get the crap beat out of you. God forbid they’ve got guns.
I agree Kellen, there is a strong case for tight gun control in China. I think violent crime is born out of poverty, a sense of hopelessness and overall detachment from your society — no shortage of those ingredients in China.
Hi There !!
It is really sad to hear.
Why they are harassing people like this, is this the part of investigation. It is horrible
The good samaritan has been squashed by China’s frequent and often completly unobjective mood swings in it’s legal system
1) Nanjing guy helping the old women
2) Cops tricking innocent drivers into picking up a stranger and then charging him as a “black taxi”.
Any onlookers would only be counting their fen as it wasn’t them getting the boots.