Here is a daily scene at the food court of a shopping mall in Beijing. A diner finishes his meal. The minute he gets up, someone strides towards his leftovers and begins munching on them.
That someone belongs to a small group of regular visitors to food courts, wandering around and waiting for an opportunity of a free meal in the form of others' leftovers.
According to a recent report by Beijing Morning Post, there are seven to eight daily meal pickers at the shopping mall, as they call themselves. During weekends, the group increases to 20 or so. Strangely, none of them look poor or thin. Some of them even carry a bulging belly.
The Beijing Morning Post reporter learned from one of them some have been picking off others' meals for three years and have become acquaintances with the food court's security guards. They have no authority to force them to leave because the visitors don't break any regulations.
Some meal pickers claim they don't want to waste food, but admit they feel embarrassed sometimes.
While hygiene isn't one of their top concerns, these people annoy paid diners. A random survey by the reporter shows most people feel uncomfortable seeing someone eat their leftovers.
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Director: Liu Chi