6th February 2023 – (Hong Kong) A few photos of a young woman begging for money in Mong Kok went viral on social media today. The woman claimed that she needed to “sell her body to bury her father”, and she told passers-by that she would sell her body for HK$300,000. Her antics aroused the attention and discussion of many netizens. The woman sat on a portable stool at the junction of Argyle Street and Sai Yeung Choi South Street in Mong Kok. She was wearing a floral dress and a white coat, and was holding a YSL handbag. There was also a piece of white placard in front of her written with a “poem” in simplified Chinese. The poem basically indicated that her father has passed away and she has lost her home.
An Apple iPad was placed on the ground next to her showing a suspected picture of her deceased father. Many netizens questioned her motive as she was well dressed and did not look like she was desperate for money. Some reporters present tried to ask her questions but she failed to answer them. She was talking gibberish in Cantonese, Putonghua, English and even Korean. At one point, she even shouted, “Look and me and look at you, why you guys have no cash? My dad is going to die!” She then said “I need HK$300,000!” She continued in broken English, “I don’t know why you people no money and still stand here and don’t go to work!”
According to the shop employees at the scene, the woman had been loitering in the area for the whole day. Someone even said that she had been seen since 7am today and asked passers-by for HK$300,000 to offer her body for sale. The person in the picture of her iPad was later identified as a Mainland director, screenwriter and producer, Xu Jizhou and he is still well and alive. The photo appeared in a news report under “Sina Entertainment” in the Mainland as early as 2010.
As of 8pm today, some onlookers thought the woman’s abnormal behaviour was disruptive, and called the police for help. When the woman heard that someone called the police, she said in Mandarin, “Someone is here to arrest me!” She then picked up her belongings and left. When walked past some buskers, she suddenly danced and left some spare change before heading towards the direction of Nathan Road and Shantung Street.
