Most volunteer traffic wardens would probably cite the community spirit and a desire to do their bit for society as their motivations - but at least one such volunteer in Qingdao is apparently just in it for the gratuitous violence.
During the evening rush hour of Tuesday, May 12 an argument broke out at a busy intersection in the Shandong city when a young female pedestrian tried crossing the road while lights were still red. The volunteer crossing steward on duty tried telling to stay back and the two began arguing with each other until the volunteer drew a hammer and knocked her head in.
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Apparently, the warden had a long-standing vendetta against the woman, who was a serial jaywalker and frequently argued with the traffic wardens.
As the woman lay writhing in the middle of the zebra crossing, the warden stood over her body, repeatedly yelling "I'm not letting you run reds!" to the other stunned commuters waiting at the crossing.
Police then arrived on the scene to arrest the volunteer and her victim was taken to hospital, having sustained serious non-life-threatening injuries.
The virulent volunteer has since emerged as something of an unlikely heroine online, where the weight of netizen opinion has been lining up on her side with exclamations of "well done!" and "serves [the jaywalker] right."
Even critical voices have been notably subdued, merely suggesting that a whip might be more appropriate than a hammer as a means to keep commuters in line. "I can't say 'well done' because violence and civilization don't mix; but maybe this incident will make more people respect traffic rules," one of the more cautious commenters wrote.
"I cross intersections everyday," another related, "and it makes me so angry to see people running roughshod over the rules of the road - especially buses! They run reds all the time, which is far more terrifying!"
The award for most epic and/or worrying comment, however, has to go to this web user in Foshan, responsible for the most liked comment on the Sina news feature:
A fine strike. In a world of chaos, a heavy hammer is needed.
You're drunk, Thor, go home.
[Images via NetEase]
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