SOME beggars in Klang are apparently making over RM700 a day, surpassing the daily earnings of many traders at wet markets in the area, reported China Press.
These beggars, many of whom are from China, operate in areas such as Taman Eng Ann, Kampung Baru Pandamaran and Bandar Bukit Tinggi. They make use of their physical disabilities to evoke sympathy from passers-by.
A reporter from the daily noticed that they do not mind when people take photos of them.
Many of them were seen sitting or lying on the ground with a tin can placed in front of them for donations. Others were seen in wheelchairs, singing using a microphone and a speaker.
In addition to a tin can, some even had QR codes in front of them for digital donations.
Traders are complaining that the beggars, who started appearing this Chinese New Year, are disrupting their business.
“Some of them are quite aggressive. When customers are choosing items at my stall, the beggars hold out cans asking for money, which is very rude,” trader Xu Jian He said.
Another trader, known only as Lin, said she suspects the beggars are part of a criminal syndicate as she noticed that they were transported to wet markets in groups and ferried away once the markets closed.