Photo: Screenshot from Sina Weibo

A group of officials from Nantong in East China's Jiangsu Province are being investigated for misconduct as of Tuesday after an elderly street vendor selling sugar cane was surrounded by a group of uniformed personnel and had his fruits confiscated, stirring criticism from the public on Monday. 

The local commission for discipline inspection and supervision of Haimen district, Nantong has launched an investigation into the related government officials and the local urban management officials in Sanxing town in the district, according to a statement released by the local government on Tuesday. 

The government officials from Sanxing town apologized to the elderly vendor on Tuesday afternoon with gifts and returned the sugar cane to him. 

A video of the incident shows that the elderly vendor was wheeling his bicycle loaded with a large bunch of sugar cane along the street, when more than 10 people wearing the city's management uniform surrounded him and took away all his sugar cane. The old man could even be heard crying in the background. 

The video went viral on Monday and aroused public concern over the treatment of elderly people.

The vendor's granddaughter surnamed Zhang only learnt of her grandpa's ordeal after she happened to watch the video online. She criticized the law enforcement personnel's behavior as being too rough and violent toward the elderly man, according to Chutian Metropolis Daily. 

According to a statement on the situation released by the local government on Monday night, the people in uniform were confirmed as staffers from the  company from which the local government purchased services to maintain the appearance of the city. These people are responsible for the city's appearance and related work, but they handled the incident in a way that didn't align with their agreed job requirements. 

The local government has since terminated its cooperation with the company and blacklisted it. The company will be financially penalized according to the contract. 

A manager of the company surnamed Zhang defended that the vendor had sold sugar cane many times and they had to temporarily withheld his sugar cane after they failed to dissuade him from selling them on the street, according to the Workers' Daily. 

However, most netizens on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo expressed their dissatisfaction at the misconduct of the staffers with many thinking that the local government should not have outsourced the urban management work. 

"The old man cried like a child … Did they ever think of 'serving the people' when they took away the sugar cane?" one internet user commented. 

A group of volunteers offered to help the vendor sell the sugar cane on Tuesday and they hoped the vendor can feel the warmth from society. 

Global Times

Photo: Screenshot from Sina Weibo

Five officials in Nantong, a city in East China's Jiangsu Province, were punished on Wednesday after an elderly street vendor was surrounded by a group of urban management workers and had his fruits confiscated, stirring criticism from the public on Monday.

The local commission for discipline inspection and supervision announced punishment for 5 government officials, after having launched an investigation on Tuesday into the related government officials and the local urban management officials of Sanxing town in Haimen district, Nantong. 

According to the announcement, the head of Sanxing town was admonished and 4 other officials including the deputy head of the town received administrative warnings. One employer at the local comprehensive law enforcement council was fired.

A video of the incident viral online shows that the elderly vendor was wheeling his bicycle loaded with a large bunch of sugar cane along the street, when more than 10 people wearing the city's management uniform surrounded him and took away all his sugar cane. The old man could even be heard crying in the background.

The video aroused public concern over the maltreatment of elderly people.

The vendor's granddaughter surnamed Zhang only learnt of her grandpa's ordeal after she happened to watch the video online. She criticized the law enforcement personnel's behavior as being too rough and violent toward the elderly man, according to Chutian Metropolis Daily. 

The local government said in a statement on Monday night that the people in uniform were confirmed as staffers from a company, from which the local government purchased services to maintain the appearance of the city. 

These people are responsible for the city's appearance and related work, but they handled the incident in a way that didn't align with their job requirements, the statement said.

The local government has since terminated its cooperation with the company and blacklisted it. The company will be financially penalized according to the contract. 

A manager of the company surnamed Zhang defended that the vendor had sold sugar cane many times and they had to temporarily withheld his sugar cane after they failed to dissuade him from selling them on the street, according to the Workers' Daily. 

However, most netizens on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo expressed their dissatisfaction at the misconduct of the staffers with many thinking that the local government should not have outsourced the urban management work. 

"The old man cried like a child … Did they ever think of 'serving the people' when they took away the sugar cane?" one internet user commented. 

The government officials from Sanxing town apologized to the elderly vendor on Tuesday afternoon with gifts and returned the sugar cane to him. 

A group of volunteers offered to help the vendor sell the sugar cane on Tuesday and they hoped the vendor can feel the warmth from society. A volunteer surnamed Dai said the company has bought 2000 sticks of sugar cane from the vendor.

Global Times