Scandalous firms in the headlines

You see security guards almost everywhere: in communities, at supermarkets, in office buildings. But fewer people nowadays really think of security guards as protectors. More often than not, they believe - rightly or wrongly - that security guards are dangerous.

The lack of official supervision has made substandard security service companies almost rampant and the unqualified guards they recruit lack professional training, and have made headlines with their violence and crimes.

In November 2008, a security guard in Fengtai district was sentenced to 12 years in prison after stabbing an apartment owner. The company he worked for was later found to be operating without a legal permit and had never provided any training for employees.