Chinese authorities are actively investigating a high-profile case involving a woman who was assaulted by a couple after she refused to swap her seat with them on a high-speed train traveling from Taiyuan in Shanxi province to Tianjin.
The Tianjin railway police issued a notice on Saturday, confirming that the incident is under scrutiny.
The unsettling incident occurred aboard the G2610 train last Thursday when a passenger surnamed Nie declined to exchange her seat with a couple and sought to regain her originally assigned seat, which had been occupied by a male passenger.
Nie had boarded the G2610 train at Taiyuan South Railway Station, only to find her seat already taken by a male passenger. She told him that the seat was hers, but he proposed a seat swap, requesting that she sit beside him instead.
Nie declined the request, and this refusal triggered persistent harassment from the male passenger, surnamed Zhang, and his wife, surnamed Tian. They began speaking loudly and hitting the back of Nie's seat. After repeatedly requesting that they cease their behavior, Nie was subjected to verbal abuse and physically assaulted by the couple for nearly 10 minutes.
According to Nie, Tian shoved her foldable table, which was attached to Nie's seat. Nie then asked Tian to stop, and Tian responded by insulting her and striking her left arm. Tian also restrained Nie's arms while scratching and hitting her. The man also hit Nie.
A video of the incident appears to show the man making the first move in the brawl, prompting his wife to repeatedly strike Nie. Other passengers eventually intervened and stopped the fight.
