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Tight security at local hotels, bars and spas
By Zhang Yan (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-22 09:35
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Beijing police will strengthen monitoring efforts in four-star and five-star hotels and entertainment venues, a senior official from the security administration corps of the Beijing police told METRO.
The Russian subway explosions on March 29 have sounded an alarm that Beijing will not ignore, said Qian Jin, deputy chief of the security administration corps of the Beijing police.
"High-end hotels are popular with senior officials, businessmen and foreign tourists and entertainment venues are often high-density places in terms of number of people," said Qian. "A terrorist attack or explosion in such places would likely have enormous consequences."
Guests must now present valid identification documents when they check in at top-end hotels.
Hotel security guards will be trained by the police, who will teach them how to spot abnormal behavior, such as guests paying close attention to topography and construction of hotels and taking pictures of the hotel's infrastructure, Qian said.
The guards will also now regularly inspect emergency exits, garbage bins and water, electric, gas and communication systems. There will also be one or two undercover police officers in each hotel, he said.
All major entertainment venues are required to hold terrorism and explosion evacuation drills at least once each quarter and install 24-hour monitoring systems, he added.
The police will also randomly spot-check entertainment venues and hotels, and will occasionally test their response capabilities by simulating emergencies, Qian said.
"We might place a suspicious looking black bag with a ticking clock inside it in a hotel's underground parking lot, for example, to see how well the guards on duty handle the situation," he said.
Some major entertainment venues will get blast-resistant security doors. The police will require other smaller venues to buy and use handheld devices to inspect customers, Qian said.
"Beijing is a safe metropolitan city and these new measures will help keep it that way," he said.
The Beijing police dealt with 2,416 criminal cases in the first three months of 2010, a 12.8 percent drop compared with the same period in 2009
Not a single case of prostitution, gambling or drug use was reported in the first three months, compared to three in the same period in 2009, according to security administration corps figures.
Consumption and service disputes, alcohol-related incidents and theft were listed the top three types of criminal cases in the first quarter.
However, Qian said it's still difficult for the police to investigate prostitution, gambling and drug use in karaoke bars and spa centers because of the high volume of customers at such places, their tendency to move frequently and the ease with which such activities can be hidden.
He said plainclothes officers will make surprise visits to entertainment places if authorities receive reports about illicit activity there.
"If they discover prostitution, gambling or drug use, the karaoke bar or spa center in question can be shut for at least six months and fined as much as 1 million yuan, so the mangers of these places usually are willing to cooperate with the police to monitor such activity," he said.
