Haha! I guess for a year he wasn't considered a beggar since he was on a payroll. They should've helped him by instead investing it on his behalf. The beggar wouldn't know how to efficiently spend the earnings so it would just be wasted.
Your story made me think of this: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/27/pair-of-glasses-left-on-us-gallery-floor-mistaken-for-art
We do get some Hollywood films shoot here from time to time, but they hire professional actors for beggar roles. It's too much of a risk to use beggars, I guess.
With regard to UBI, yeah, I'm keeping a close eye on those projects. I really do hope that one proves to be successful soon.