Man secretly lived in shopping mall for months — and even had his own bed and desk
Shanghai China November 8 2023
This was Bed, Bath and Beyond insane.
This is one way to combat skyrocketing rents: A Shanghai man redefined setting up shop after living undetected in a mall for six months — during which he evaded security guards by hunkering down in a tent under the stairs.
A video depicting the squatter’s epic living spree is currently blowing up on Twitter.
According to the clip, the unidentified man had surreptitiously stowed a tent, table, computer and chair under the staircase.
The terminal mall rat would then periodically pop out to charge his devices using the shopping center’s outlets, evoking something out of Tom Hanks long-term airport layover in “The Terminal.”
A security guard allegedly discovered the unauthorized tenant months ago, but allowed him to extend his stay after he claimed that he needed a “place to study,” Metro reported.
His malls to the wall sojourn ended unceremoniously on October 30 after he was discovered by another, less accommodating mall cop, who arrested him for his illicit incognito abode.
As of yet, the man’s motivation for treating a mall as a long-term motel remains unclear.
However, people making themselves at home in shopping centers in China is more common than you might think.
Ikea China customers have been known for napping with abandon in the Swedish furniture firm’s display beds — a trend became so rampant that the Beijing branches banned the practice in 2016.
Despite the moratorium, the shoppers continued to treat showrooms as their personal sleeping quarters. Here’s hoping they didn’t use the display toilets as well.
Meanwhile, on this side of the pond, artist Michael Townsend was arrested in 2007 after squatting inside a Rhode Island shopping mall for four years as part of a project on mall life.
He managed to evade security guards by erecting an underground bunker in the center’s parking garage — complete with China dishware and a Playstation 2.
He said the stunt was inspired by a holiday ad for the center, in which a female voice gushed about “how great it would be if you (we) could live at the mall.”
