A man who threatened to jump from the roof of Xinzhuang Cloud Nine Shopping Mall in Minhang District of Shanghai faces criminal charges for “assembling a crowd and disturbing public order,” police said yesterday.
On August 25, four people, including the suspect surnamed Xiong, threatened to commit suicide by jumping from the mall — one of the busiest in the district.
Police needed 36 hours to talk them out of it. Eighty police officers were engaged in rescue efforts along with firefighters and first aid workers.
Xiong, who is in his 20s, told police they were protesting to get the public’s attention to business disputes with a company.
The four unfurled banners which read “Return us our blood and sweat money,” and “We’re faced with death and broken families.”
Xiong later told the police they had no intention of jumping from the building.
Police said they did not use force as the four were sitting on the edge of the rooftop and there was a possibility that the rescuers could have been dragged down by them.
During the entire drama, Xiong kept persuading the other three not to “give in” to the negotiators.
The three were detained for up to 10 days.
But Xiong’s act was considered criminal because they had “abused” emergency measures as the rescue effort involved medical personnel and two ambulances.
Xiong used WeChat, a popular Chinese social networking app, to gather a crowd, police said.
Xiong is among five people with similar cases who have been detained by the Minhang police and slapped with criminal charges this year.
