Every few minutes, the hum of Hong Kong’s MTR trains is punctuated by a monotone female voice that announces, “Dear passengers, please hold the handrail. Do not keep your eyes only on your mobile phones.”

We don’t know if there are similar announcements made on the Shenzhen Metro, but parents who are so fixated on their phones that they refuse to take their kids to the toilet deserve a similar announcement: “Irresponsible parents, please keep your eyes on your kids, not your mobile phones.”

We don’t know what the woman was doing on her phone at the time, but whatever it was, it was compelling enough to ignore her child’s plea for a toilet. And as any parent can attest, it often requires the discipline of a Zen Buddhist to ignore a whimpering child.

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On June 17 on Shenzhen Metro Line 5, a little girl was seen crying on the train, asking her mother to take her to the toilet. After two stops of receiving the silent treatment, the little girl could no longer hold it, squatted, and proceeded to do what comes naturally.

The trail of pee flowed as long as three to four meters according to a witness who posted the images online, Yang Cheng Evening News reported. After relieving herself, the little girl was dragged back to her seat by her mother. The daughter was seen sobbing on a suitcase while her mother continued to stare at her phone as if nothing happened.

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According to the report, each subway stop on Line 5 has a toilet, but it did not matter to this mother or the two other guys who were seen peeing inside the metro earlier this May: one at Laojie station, and one inside a moving subway.

As usual, Weibo users were quick to speculate as to what happened: “She is not the little girl’s biological mother.” Another user Waymend added: “Her phone must be her biological child.”

It seems that for the expressed purpose of ignoring your child, there is in fact an app for that.

Related:

• Watch: No Toilet, No Problem: Lady Poops in Shenzhen Metro Lift, Man Keeps a Look-Out
• Fist Fight Breaks Out in Shenzhen Hospital After Child Defecates in Waiting Room
• New Shenzhen “Pee Straight” Funnels Aim to Help You Avoid Costly Fine 
• With the Outrage Over the Boy Squatting on the GZ Metro, Are Attitudes Changing?
• Shenzhen Government Proposes Punishing “Uncivilized” Behavior

Photo: Yang Cheng Evening News