Four mainland tourists refuse to leave ambulance after falling down MTR escalators

A family of four tourists from Beijing staged a two-hour sit-in inside an ambulance yesterday evening when they refused to pay to a hospital’s emergency room fees.

One person had fallen backwards while riding an escalator inside the Sunny Bay MTR station, colliding into their companions, reports Oriental Daily.

An elderly couple and their daughter-in-law sustained injuries to their limbs, while their son was unharmed. All four were sent to hospital by concerned MTR staff.

When they arrived at Princess Margaret Hospital they learned that as non-Hong Kong residents, they’d have to pay a fee at the hospital, which would amount to HKD1,710 for the three injured tourists.

Outraged, they claimed they had been told by MTR staff that they would be treated for free, and refused to get out of the ambulance until they could speak to the person who promised them that.

Since the MTR presumably didn’t have extra staff to send to speak to disgruntled passengers in hospitals, the incident dragged on for two hours before police officers finally persuaded them to get out of the ambulance, get treated, then discuss the costs later.

A spokesperson for MTR said that after reviewing CCTV footage, the company found that the four tourists were not holding the handrail as advised (over and over again by those persistent, multilingual PSAs) when the accident occurred.

He also said that the passengers could contact their legal department if they wish to make a claim. 

Photo: See-ming Lee via Flickr
 


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