A woman in Beijing was left terrified after several snakes were found inside her massage shop, with the repeated encounters leaving her struggling to sleep and work normally.
The woman, identified as Gao, runs a blind massage shop in Tongzhou. She told reporters that she had purchased a ‘Black King Kong’ rubber tree plant from an online shop for 59.80 yuan on July 15, after deciding it would make a suitable decoration near the entrance of her premises. The plant was shipped from Guangzhou and arrived at her shop on July 19.
Her first frightening encounter happened on Aug 3 at around 9.30pm. While searching through a cabinet behind the counter, Gao turned around and spotted a snake moving towards her. Terrified of snakes, she climbed onto a chair before rushing out of the area.
Gao’s business partner, Fan, said the shop’s employees have poor eyesight, so they had to rely on a customer to help search for the reptile. The snake was eventually discovered resting on a badminton racket underneath the counter. A security guard later removed it with a broom, placed it in a container and released it.
The following morning, another small snake was discovered inside the counter while the shop was being cleaned. Gao immediately contacted the authorities, and firefighters arrived within about 10 minutes. The snake, which was believed to be non-venomous, was caught by hand and later released.
Although no snakes were spotted for around two weeks, another incident occurred on Aug 20. At about 9.45am, Gao found a much larger snake inside the counter and alerted the authorities. Firefighters and property management staff searched the area before eventually finding the snake hiding inside a gap along the wall skirting.
The situation took an even more alarming turn when property management staff reportedly discovered shed snake skin inside the rubber tree plant. The plant was moved outdoors, where firefighters examined the soil around its roots and found several dried-up snake eggs.
At around 10.25am that same day, Gao spotted yet another snake behind the wall near the counter. It was reportedly similar in size to the previous one and was subsequently removed by property management staff and released.
With the repeated discoveries taking a toll on her, Gao said she had become exhausted and was having difficulty sleeping. She said she decided to share her experience online to warn others, adding that she could barely close her eyes without imagining snakes.
Gao later contacted the online seller on Aug 20 to request a refund, but said the seller did not process her request and instead suggested that she purchase snake-killing chemicals. Her complaint to the shopping platform also failed to produce a resolution.
After checking the seller’s business licence, Gao found that the company was registered in Zhengzhou. She subsequently contacted the Zhengzhou consumer hotline and government service hotline, after which the local market regulatory authorities reportedly began investigating the matter. She is now awaiting the outcome of the investigation.
