Near-naked foreigners dispersed by Beijing police

In this Wednesday, July 22, 2015, photo taken by a bystander and provided to the Associated Press, foreigners dressed in Spartan-style costumes stand in a commercial plaza in Beijing.

A publicity stunt for a restaurant here in which over a hundred half-naked foreigners dressed as Spartans delivered lunches for the office-goers went horribly wrong, with the police taking them into custody for “affecting public order”.

The bare-chested fashions prompted a sensation within the streets, attracting crowds of onlookers and posing with ladies for pictures that have been circulated extensively on social media.

Police were less amused.

But the unsuspecting warriors came face to face with a skirmish after local police told them to disperse.

As said by the official Sina Weibo account of Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, police rushed to the scene immediately after residents reported a group of scantily dressed foreign men attracting public attention in Sanlitun of Beijing’s Chaoyang district. It said the matter was still under investigation.

Salad Sweetie has since apologized for the stunt, as indicated by the New York Times, saying that the models were supposed to convey an image of health in celebration of the company’s one-year anniversary. It said in a statement posted online that store representatives spoke with police to clear up any “misunderstanding”.