Outcry after Chinese bank staff publicly spanked on training course

Two executives from a bank in northwestern China have been suspended from work after a video was circulated on the internet showing staff getting publicly spanked for performing poorly in a training class.

The video, apparently filmed on a mobile phone, showed eight employees in yellow uniforms standing on a platform when a man with microphone asked why they had ranked last in the day’s training.

The eight, including four women, listed reasons such as “failing to make a personal breakthrough” and “inadequate team cohesiveness”.

With a thick stick in his hand, the man said “get your butts ready” and began to spank each of the eight in turn in front of other trainees.

After three rounds, a woman on the far right tried to cover her hip and the man berated her, saying, “take off your hand!”