In the afternoon of 1 September, three workers representatives in Shenzhen were allegedly beaten after trying to claim missing and unpaid wages from their employer. According to reports, the worker representative and two others were discussing the issue of six months of missing wages with their contractor who was accompanied by several hired men who eventually brought the discussion to a close by threatening the representative and beating the two others with sticks. The hired men later fled from the scene.
According to a report in Xinhua, the incident occurred in the Jinsha Garden construction site, Xixiang Town, Shenzhen. According to Mr Wen, a construction worker interviewed by the Chinese media, the contractor, a Mr. Chen, had stopped paying the workers their wages from 17 February 2003. On 29 August, after six months of unpaid work, the workers stopped work. On 1 September, at around 5pm, Chen arrived at the site accompanied by more than 10 hired enforcers to negotiate with the worker’s representatives. However, at around 6pm a quarrel broke out and one of the hired enforcers, who claimed he was there for “security” purposes took out a gun (believed to a homemade imitation of a colt 64 pistol) and shot at the workers. One worker, Wang Qingguang, knocked back the man’s hand and the bullet missed the workers. At the same time, the other men hired by the manager, picked up wooden poles lying nearby and began to beat the workers. As the fight began, a workers’ representative called the emergency services to report to the Baoan County police.
The chief of Gongle Police Station in Baoan District, Hu Zhenglei and his assistant Ceng Chijun along with 4 other policemen and 20 local patrolmen went to the site. Two of the hired enforcers, Hu X Hua and Hu X Lin from Huilai, in Guangdong province were arrested right away. The police also found the suspected gun and bullet. Two injured workers were sent to Xixiang People’s Hospital. Chief Hu stated in the Chinese media reports that the initial investigation revealed that the man who shot the gun was a security guard from nearby Shanghe Market, posing as a policeman.
Details of what has happened in the dispute and the legal responsibilities of the manager are not known.
10 September 2003
According to a report in Xinhua, the incident occurred in the Jinsha Garden construction site, Xixiang Town, Shenzhen. According to Mr Wen, a construction worker interviewed by the Chinese media, the contractor, a Mr. Chen, had stopped paying the workers their wages from 17 February 2003. On 29 August, after six months of unpaid work, the workers stopped work. On 1 September, at around 5pm, Chen arrived at the site accompanied by more than 10 hired enforcers to negotiate with the worker’s representatives. However, at around 6pm a quarrel broke out and one of the hired enforcers, who claimed he was there for “security” purposes took out a gun (believed to a homemade imitation of a colt 64 pistol) and shot at the workers. One worker, Wang Qingguang, knocked back the man’s hand and the bullet missed the workers. At the same time, the other men hired by the manager, picked up wooden poles lying nearby and began to beat the workers. As the fight began, a workers’ representative called the emergency services to report to the Baoan County police.
The chief of Gongle Police Station in Baoan District, Hu Zhenglei and his assistant Ceng Chijun along with 4 other policemen and 20 local patrolmen went to the site. Two of the hired enforcers, Hu X Hua and Hu X Lin from Huilai, in Guangdong province were arrested right away. The police also found the suspected gun and bullet. Two injured workers were sent to Xixiang People’s Hospital. Chief Hu stated in the Chinese media reports that the initial investigation revealed that the man who shot the gun was a security guard from nearby Shanghe Market, posing as a policeman.
Details of what has happened in the dispute and the legal responsibilities of the manager are not known.
10 September 2003