Tagging along behind me was a shabbily dressed boy in his early teens with an empty tin cup in his hand and he kept nudging me to give him a few coins.

Although I was being importuned with an obstinate request for alms, I nonetheless summoned enough courage to give him a glowering look in an attempt to scare him away.

The dilemma I was in worsened when the boy was joined by a grimy-faced even younger girl, who likewise stalked me as though I were a wounded wild animal on its way back to its den. I felt I might fall prey to the two of them at any minute.

Anybody else dogged by a similar harrowing experience of being closely followed by two small children begging for alms would probably do what I did: wheel around and hand over a few coins thus getting out of the predicament.

Not far away, I spotted a middle-aged woman with dishevelled hair and gnarled fingers, leaning against a tree with a baby suckling at her breast. It was apparent the two children who had been harassing me tenaciously were merely puppets attached to a string with the other end in the grip of that woman. And who knows whether there is someone else, the real mogul, who is manipulating then all?

Lately, there have been arguments about whether to allow panhandlers to beg in downtown streets. One side poses as defenders of human rights, saying that impoverished as they are, beggars are also human beings, the same as we are, while the other side hoists the sacred banner of keeping the image of Shanghai intact and unsullied.

I, for my part at least, don't want to debate the issue but I have to ask: What if begging has degenerated into a profession, a job that involves scrounging off the generosity of others and a haven for wimps and good-for-nothings?

As has been reported, of late centres nationwide have been established to hold vagrants and repatriate them to their home towns while making sure that they do not lack food and accommodation.

What strikes me as rather odd is that few vagrants have been enthusiastic about this lenient approach. They would rather expose themselves to the elements than seek the shelter provided by the government.

The stimulus for leading an aimless life, it occurs to me, can only be freedom and money: freedom to do whatever they like while making far more money than they would earn by doing manual labour.

It's no longer a secret that a good proportion of beggars are living a life far more comfortable than that of the average retiree. Their decision to beg seems to be paying handsome dividends. On top of that, the mogul lording it over all of them must be leading an enviable lifestyle.

Aside from what I have said so far, indulging begging will give rise to kleptomania, a disease that has long been plaguing city residents.

But what about those who are really in dire need of money? "Fly in the ointment" is all I can say to that question: they have only their counterfeit counterparts to blame. Or maybe they should seek help from the government-funded programme.

In all, they are the reasons why I eschew beggars and steer clear of them as much as possible.

starcomment@yahoo.com