The Chinese public is outraged that a girl narrowly escaped abduction while passersby ignored her cries for help at a franchise hotel in Beijing on Sunday.

Screen capture of the video. [Photo from web]

A woman, going by the name "Wanwan_2016," uploaded a video clip to microblogging website Sina Weibo on Tuesday showing her being attacked by a man on April 3 in Yitel Hotel in Beijing's 798 Art Zone.

According to the video clip, she was attacked by a man after leaving the hotel's elevator. The man held her throat and tried to drag her into a nearby staircase. The woman cried out, but none of the passersby or the hotel staff stepped forward to help. The woman might have been abducted had it not been for a female hotel customer who stopped the man.

The video clip showed that the victim struggled with the attacker for about five to six minutes. Some passersby and hotel staff came to see what was happening, but none of them gave her any help, thinking they were a quarreling couple.

The video clip has provoked widespread public anger. About 12 hours after the clip was uploaded, more than 65,000 people had shared the post and nearly 20,000 people had commented on it. Besides criticizing the hotel management, the public was angry over people's indifference.

The Home Inns, owner of the Yitel Hotel, issued an online statement about 12 hours after the victim uploaded the video clip, admitting that a fight between a man and a woman had taken place that night. "The hotel staff tried to separate them after hearing the noise. The man then made a phone call and tried to take the woman away. The woman sat down on the ground and called the police. When the man tried to drag the woman towards the emergency exit, he was stopped by a female customer and a hotel guard," the statement said.

"We established a special team to investigate the case after learning of the suffering of Ms. 'Wanwan.' We also tried to contact her but failed to find her. We hope 'Wanwan' will contact us. We need her help to bring the attacker to justice," the statement said.

"Ping'an Beijing," or "Safe Beijing," the microblog account representing the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, issued a notice around noon on Wednesday, saying that the police are investigating the case.

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