Saving a child's life is a thankless job these days -
‘Leave him alone, keyboard warriors’: man in China saves girl from falling off escalator, accused of ‘touching her bottom’
- A man in China who rescued a girl about to fall off the edge of an escalator after she became trapped is praised for pulling her up to safety
- However, after CCTV footage of the rescue emerged, some internet users accused the man of ‘touching the girl’s bottom’ during the rescue
A man in China who rescued a girl about to fall off an escalator has been accused of inappropriately groping her by cyberbullies, but has been defended by members of the public. Photo: SCMP composite
A man in China who saved a young girl from falling off an escalator has since been cyberbullied and accused of “touching the girl’s bottom” during the rescue.
The man, surnamed Ding, was at a Shanghai shopping centre last Sunday when he saw a girl, aged about five years old, holding onto the outside edge of a moving escalator, Jimu News reported.
The girl became stuck in a gap between the handrail and a pane of glass and was left dangling at a considerable height above the floor below unable to get off.
Seeing the girl on the verge of falling, Ding helped pull her to safety. While lifting the girl over the edge of the escalator he placed one hand on the back of her upper legs and lower buttocks to support her weight and held her arm with his other hand as he lifted her to safety.
After CCTV footage of the incident circulated on social media, some people questioned his actions and accused him of “touching the girl’s bottom”.
“It’s a good deed to save people. But is it appropriate to touch a girl’s private part?” wrote one person on Weibo.
“Don’t you see there’s something wrong with where he put his hand?” another user questioned.
After the girl became stuck and was left hanging from the side of the escalator, Ding came over and helped pull her back over to safety. Photo: Baidu
However, many people were supportive and praised his actions.
“He is a hero. Keyboard warriors, leave him alone! Don’t let those others feel bitterly disappointed,” one person said.
“I don’t think Brother Ding put his hand in an inappropriate place. In an emergency situation, if this brother had not extended his hand to save the girl, she might have lost her life,” a second user echoed.
Another person said: “For the internet users who criticised Ding, I want to ask you – which one is more important – saving a person’s life or putting your hand in the right place?”
Ding told Jimu News that he felt frustrated by the accusations and said some people had also condemned him for “walking too slowly to the scene”.
“Next time, if encountering a similar scenario, I might hesitate for a second, pondering whether I should come to rescue or not,” he said.
“For keyboard warriors, I hope you have some morals. You don’t have the same experience as other people, so please don’t make conclusions about others rashly.”
Ding says he is surprised by the bullying: ‘You don’t have the same experience as other people, so please don’t make conclusions about others rashly’. Photo: Baidu
In 2021, a man in southeastern China was cyberbullied after being accused of “touching a 10-year-old girl’s bottom” as he tried to save her after she became stuck in a crack in a doorway.
The man rescued her by lifting up her legs and pushing her body through the crack to the other side. Internet users accused him of putting his hand on the girl’s bottom while helping her to safety.
