Recently, a video circulating online in Mainland China sparked a heated debate. The footage captured an unsavory incident in a Guangzhou swimming pool where a male swimmer defecated in the pool while swimming. The incident, captured by the pool’s closed-circuit television (CCTV), led to the pool management filing a police report and demanding compensation from the perpetrator. The guilty party has been identified and ordered to pay 8,000 RMB ($1,235 approx.) in damages.
The video shows the man swimming frog-style down a lane when he abruptly pulls down his swimming trunks, bares his buttocks, and defecates in the pool. Another swimmer, who was not far behind the male swimmer, had a close encounter with the floating feces.
According to a report by Sina, the unfortunate incident occurred on a Sunday morning (23rd) at a pool in the Liwan District of Guangzhou. Following the incident, several swimmers lodged complaints about the fecal matter in the pool, prompting lifeguards to urgently clear everyone out of the water. The person responsible was identified from the CCTV footage.
The report indicates that the pool had to temporarily close for the day to change the water and carry out disinfection. The pool management called the police and located the offending swimmer, who claimed he could not help it at the time. After negotiation, the swimmer compensated the pool with 8,000 RMB. The pool, which is members-only, has since revoked the membership of the offender.
The incident ignited fervent discussions among Chinese netizens, who criticized the man’s behavior as lacking in public decency and being disgusting. Many people also expressed concern for the swimmer who was behind the offending man, with comments such as, “I wonder how much psychological damage the man swimming behind has suffered” and “I feel sorry for the guy behind, he must have psychological barriers now”.
The question of how often feces are found in swimming pools was raised. Hong Kong’s Leisure and Cultural Services Department sometimes has to temporarily close public swimming pools for a few hours to clean and disinfect them due to the presence of feces or vomit. Looking at the department’s records for the past month, there were three instances where pools had to be closed for cleaning and disinfection due to feces, two of which occurred at the Sheung Shui swimming pool and one at the Tai Kok Tsui swimming pool.