Student slaps phone from hand over subway selfie

An African student got into a heated argument on a Nanjing subway after he believed another passenger was taking photos of him, police said.

The man, who is studying at a local university, had accused the passenger, surnamed Yu, of taking a photo of him while riding the subway on Saturday.

The confrontation turned physical when the student, whose name and citizenship were not revealed, slapped the phone from Yu’s hand.

Yu insisted he was taking a selfi e and not photographing the student.

“He thought I was taking a photo of him,” Yu told offi cers in uploaded video taken at a subway station after the incident. “Then he rudely smacked the phone from my hand onto the ground.”

The student told offi cers in Chinese that the man’s position and stance suggested he was taking a photo of him.

“He was [leaning back] like this,” the student said, demonstrating Yu holding up his phone and facing him. “Do you [take a selfie] like that?”

Subway security claimed the student had particular reservations about being photographed.

“He said that where he’s from they fear that after taking someone’s photo their soul is captured in the phone,” Xu Qing, an officer with Nanjing Subway security, told media.

Xu said they looked through Yu’s phone but did not find any photos of the student.

Police said that the student later apologized and agreed to compensate Yu for the damage.