Chinese factory worker who suffered 99% burns after falling into boiling pot of soup told by state-run employers ‘to stop treatment and die’

A Chinese factory worker who survived burns to 99 per cent of his body when he fell into a boiling vat of slurry while at work was told by his employers at a state-run company to take his own life after it stopped paying his medical fees.

Yuan Longhua, 38, of Yiliang county in Yunnan province, has already endured five skin-graft surgeries costing a total of 1.4 million yuan (HK$1.6 million) and also had his right leg amputated since the accident on August 1 last year, Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.

He fell into the vat after working 13 hours without a break at CQC Group, a foreign-focused enterprise based in in Quanzhou city, in Fujian province, which provides contract engineering, real estate development, import and export trade, investment, and tourism.

Since October 8, CQC has delayed payments for his medical fees and even suggested to his brother to halt treatment so that compensation could be paid out to him after his death, the report said.

In a text message sent to Yuan’s younger brother, Yuan Longyun, Chen Zhifeng, a company representative, said: “We suggest asking relatives to tell the hospital that [Yuan is] giving up on treatment, and after [his] death we will compensate you…”