#trending: Netizens berate mothers of children caught peeking into a woman's Uniqlo changing room in China for lashing out at her

HENAN, CHINA — A woman trying on clothes in a fitting room at a Uniqlo store in China was verbally attacked by the mothers of children she caught repeatedly lifting the curtain of the cubicle she was in.

A video of the incident captured by the woman has gone viral on Chinese social media, sparking outrage among netizens.

The woman, identified online as Kira, said she was in the changing room at a Uniqlo store in the city of Xinyang in Henan Province on Jan 3 when two children began pulling up the curtain of her cubicle as she was undressing.

Various Chinese media have reported that the children comprised two boys, while others state that a boy and a girl were involved.

Kira told the children to stop and asked them where their parents were.

Seeing this, the two mothers who were standing nearby began accusing Kira of being "barbaric" for being bothered by mischievous children.

One boy is reported to be two years old, while the age of the other child is unclear.

Coming out of the cubicle after changing back into her own clothes, Kira was met with an abusive tirade by one of the women who called her an “ill-behaved and indiscreet” woman.

The viral video shows both sides arguing, although parts of the argument had been muted. A store employee can be seen trying to hold the two women back.

As Kira is filming the encounter, one of the women suddenly rushes over and grabs Kira’s mobile phone to stop her from recording.

“They grabbed my phone. (One of the mothers) called me a prostitute, saying that I was being nosy and desperate to be raped,” Kira recounted in a separate video posted on microblogging site Weibo.

A Uniqlo employee reportedly managed to retrieve the phone for Kira. The company told Chinese news outlet The Paper on Jan 4 that it was investigating the case, without elaborating further. 

A compilation video of the incident as well as Kira’s retelling of what happened was uploaded by Feidian Video on Weibo.

It has amassed over 16.5 million views and 18,000 comments since it was posted on Jan 5.

While Kira’s original recording of the incident did not show the children lifting the changing room curtain, the parents of the two children admitted that they had done so in a social media post on Douyin last Friday (Jan 6).

The two parents apologised for their children’s behaviour but added that Kira should not have insulted them or cursed at the children.

“She cursed us to be hit by a car on the road and die,” South China Morning Post reported one of the women to have said. 

“She said if we didn’t discipline our kid well, he would become a thug when he grew up and would be sent to jail.”

The mothers claimed that they had already apologised at the store, but this was denied by Kira. They also explained that they snatched Kira’s mobile phone because they were concerned about their privacy.

Many netizens slammed the two mothers for lashing out at Kira instead of reprimanding their children whom most agreed were in the wrong. 

One person wrote: “The main problem lies with the parents of the child. Instead of disciplining him, they insult the woman who was victimised by voyeurism.”

Another commented: “It’s really because of family education. If I did this when I was a child, I would definitely be taught by my parents on the spot, and my parents would have to apologise to others. I believe that most people will do this. This is the correct way to deal with it.” 

One user said: “A child also lifted the curtains of my fitting room at Uniqlo, but the parents kept asking the child to apologise to me. The difference between people is really big.”

Some online users chimed in with similar experiences.

A person shared: “I was trying on tops in a store once, and an eight or nine-year-old kid opened the curtain two or three times in a row. I was halfway through the clothes, so I could only yell at him to go out. After the incident, I went out to find his parents. They rolled their eyes at me and pulled their child along to continue browsing for clothes.”

Someone else wrote: “I remember two years ago, I went to an amusement park and a boy, about five or six years old, lifted my skirt again and again. When I told him not to touch me, his parents and his grandma yelled at me asking me why I was wearing a skirt.”

Others questioned whether boys should be allowed into women-only spaces.

One user said: “Mothers of boys are no longer satisfied with encroaching on women’s bathrooms and women’s toilets, they are now contaminating fitting rooms.”

Kira shared in an update on Weibo that she has reported the matter to the local police.

“I was dealt with fairly and the police comrades are very enthusiastic!...Don't worry, I'm fine! Whether you are male or female, you must protect yourself. I hope that you can learn from my experience.”

Additional reporting by Lee Wenxin