‘This isn’t Sparta!’ say Beijing police

A SALAD company’s Chinese publicity stunt went pear-shaped on Wednesday as their gang of male models dressed as Spartans were deemed to be getting onlookers too hot under the collar and the police stepped in.
Sweetie Salad deployed a handsome horde of Spartans, dressed in leather hot-pants and armed with tubs of lettuce, on the streets of downtown Beijing to advertise their delivery service, and as locals scrambled to snap pictures, police decided a public order offence was being committed.
Within minutes, the Chinese authorities did what the Persian army took three days to do and overran the Spartans, with photos appearing on social media of officers pinning down two hunks on the pavement outside a sports shop.
An official statement from the police later said they had had to control some “foreigners in short pants,” while state-controlled newspaper the China Daily grim-facedly reported that: “In China, those who want to parade for any purposes must obtain a permit from the authorities beforehand.”
It’s difficult to tell if Sweetie Salad, on the other hand, saw the funnier side, making a statement that read: “We truly thank the police for giving us assistance and instructions during our event.”