Hunky Russian Spartans cop bother in salad bar promo

SCORES of bare-chested Spartan warriors marched through Beijing’s streets, drawing swarms of admirers, picture-takers – and suddenly, police.

A local salad restaurant’s marketing stunt went awry when public security officials detained some of the muscular male models, each dressed in sandals, shorts and flowing black capes, who the eatery had hired to drum up enthusiasm in the city’s bustling commercial districts.

Online photos showed the men standing in formation in the posh Sanlitun shopping area – pictures The Spartans’ display, right, prompted a strong reaction from Beijing police, above. apparently taken soon after showed two of them lying on a pedestrian flyover, police having wrestled them to the ground.

The Beijing Youth Daily newspaper said police detained the models for ‘‘causing a public disturbance’’ after they failed to heed several warnings to disperse. The restaurant, Sweetie Salad, had not secured a permit to organise the event, the newspaper reported.

Most of the models were Russians, according to a public relations professional with knowledge of the incident who requested anonymity while discussing the sensitive incident.

Sweetie Salad apologised in a statement posted to its microblog.

‘‘After yesterday’s incident, we have come to realise that we lack experience in co-ordinating major events as a startup company,’’ it said. ‘‘We have worked out all misunderstandings with the police.’’

The Beijing public security bureau wrote on its microblog that it had received a ‘‘mass complaint’’ about the crowd and ‘‘immediately’’ dispatched officers.

The incident quickly became a hot topic on the country’s most popular microblog, Sina Weibo.

‘‘300 Spartans were no match for the Beijing police!’’ said one widely forwarded post.