Man secretly digs out two-storey cellar under Beijing street
一名男子在北京偷偷挖掘了一個兩層的地下室
Illegal basement had to be filled with cement in case the ground caved in, according to newspaper report
據報紙報導，這個非法的地下室已被填上水泥，以防止地面塌方。
Building workers had to take emergency measures and pour cement into a two-storey basement illegally dug out next to a residential block in Beijing in case the ground gave way, according to a newspaper report.
據報導，在北京緊靠一座居民樓發現了一個非法挖掘的兩層地下室，工人們必須進行緊急檢測並將水泥灌進去以防地面塌陷。
The work came to light after officials were carrying out inspections as part of a massive crackdown on illegal building work in the capital, which has seen hundreds of structures demolished and businesses closed.
這一事件曝光是因為北京官方正在查處和拆毀大量的違章建築，至今已有數以百計的房屋被拆，許多買賣也因此關閉。
Residents had complained of illegal structures on the street next to the residential block in Xicheng district, Beijing Daily reported.
據北京日報報導，居民們曾對這個西城區街道上的違章建築提出抱怨。
As workers were demolishing the buildings with mechanical diggers on Friday, the owner of one of the flats in the block admitted the ground in the area could cave in as he had built a basement underneath, the article said.
報導中說，上周五正當工人在用挖掘機拆除違建時，一家住戶的業主承認說他在地下挖了地下室，害怕地面被壓塌方。
An official was quoted as saying: 「He said, 『don’t go there, don’t go there, it’s hollow underneath』. His voice even changed and it didn’t look like he was faking it.」
一位官方人士說：「他說』別過去，別過去，下面是空的』。他說話的嗓音都變了，看著不像是在說謊。」
The basement covered an area of about 100 square metres and the man was planning to use it as storage. Officials found an entrance to the cellar inside the man’s flat.
地下室佔地大約100平方米，這個男子想用它來儲藏物品。檢查人員在該男子的住房內發現了地下室的入口。
He said he had started work on the cellar five years ago and hired people to secretly dig out the basement, moving out the soil in bags. One official described the secretive building work as like ants moving house.
那名男子說他是五年前開始挖掘的，他僱人偷偷挖掘，將土裝入袋子裡運出去。一位官員把這種工作形容成螞蟻搬家。
Neighbours of the man, whose full name was not given, said they had no idea the underground construction work was going on near their homes.
對於這位沒有透露名字的男子，他的鄰居們說他們對他挖掘地下室並不知情。
One said the only clue was he sometimes saw people taking soil away on the back of tricycles. 「I thought he was just building something on the ground,」 the person said.
一位鄰居說唯一線索是他有時看到有人用三輪車把土運走，他說：「我還以為他只是在地面修建些點兒什麼呢」。
The district government said in a statement the man had been punished, but gave no details.
該區政府在一個聲明中說該名男子已受處罰，但並沒有透露細節。
In a similar case, a man was sentenced to five years in prison in 2016 after he tried to dig a basement under his courtyard house in Beijing. It later collapsed and also damaged his neighbours』 homes.
在一個相似案例中，在2016年，一名男子在其北京的院子裡挖掘地下室並導致塌方，造成鄰居房屋受損，該男子被判刑5年。
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