Investigation launched after viral video shows soldiers beating new firefighter recruits

Police in China’s northern Inner Mongolia have launched an official investigation into the beating of five newly-recruited firefighters in Wuhai city after a video that showed them being abused by senior soldiers went viral over the weekend, reported China’s Southern Metropolis Daily.

The 16-minute-long clip that recorded the beatings received millions of views and shocked China’s online community, who called it a disgrace and demanded authorities get to the bottom of the scandal. Yet many bloggers, after viewing the clip, said it was just the tip of the iceberg of the corruption-riddled People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

The clip showed five young soldiers who were made to stand next to each other and take beatings from what appeared to be senior soldiers. The seniors took turns torturing the new recruits, hitting them in the face, kicking them in their stomach, and banging their heads into a concrete wall. Several of the recruits collapsed onto the floor after being attacked. Yet the torture resumed as the new soldiers were immediately asked to to stand up and take more beatings.

Senior soldiers were heard shouting highly offensive slurs at the new recruits throughout the beatings in the clip.

Watch: Seniors beat up newly-recuited fire fighters

In an official statement issued by Wuhai’s Fire Services Department on Monday evening on Weibo, authorities confirmed that the incident took place in June last year. An investigation is underway and several officers responsible for the attack have been suspended, it said.