Chinese company makes employees drink toilet water as punishment

From crawling on the streets to eating bittergourds, some companies in China are infamous for their unique methods of 'motivating' underperforming employees.

This time around, a photography studio in Sichuan has come under the spotlight for making its staff drink toilet water as punishment for not meeting their targets, after a video clip of the act attracted widespread attention.

According to reports, three employees were filmed using paper cups to scoop water from a squat toilet, before hesitantly drinking from the cups.

The incident, which occurred last Friday (July 28), would have gone unnoticed, if not for the perpetrator sharing the video clip in a WeChat group which was later leaked online.

According to Red Star News, a woman in charge of training new employees at the photo studio had given them several tasks to complete.

If they failed to meet the targets they had set for themselves, they would be punished. Some of the punishments included drinking from the toilet and eating earthworms.

One of the female victims, a long-time employee of the studio, told Chengdu Business Daily that she was deeply affected by the incident, which caused her to lose her appetite for several days after.

And when she received a link to the video clip and saw herself in it, she decided to file a police report.

The photo studio's manager told local media that he was away when the incident took place and expressed shock and anger over the mistreatment of his employees.

On Wednesday, local police posted a notice on its Weibo page, saying that the suspect has been detained and that investigations are ongoing.

Now, excuse us while we go vomit.

minlee@sph.com.sg