A video clip, in which some men wielding clubs and electric shock batons assaulted women and children during the demolition of illegally built housing, sends a chill down the spine.

The men, wearing black uniforms and helmets, were reportedly security guards hired by the local government in Xiuying district of Haikou, capital of Hainan province in South China.

Their brutality, committed in broad daylight, is unforgivable. It is a crime, and the perpetrators must be punished by law.