Police detain four for assault over unpaid bonus claim

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-11-12 19:25

HANGZHOU: Four men were detained Wednesday after they allegedly beat and stabbed a couple who asked the wife's employer for her unpaid bonus, said a police officer.

The detained men included the company owner and a man surnamed Li, who allegedly stabbed the woman, Wang Hongli, 32, with a knife, said Tu Liheng, head of Wenxin Police Station, in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province.

The other two detained were a local man surnamed Zhou and a man surnamed Lu from central China's Hubei Province, Tu said.

Wang Hongli, who was the sales manager of Li's company, Hangzhou Feng'ge Clothing Co Ltd, said she and her husband, Hao Gang, were assaulted by the boss and his men when they went to the company to ask for 26,000 yuan ($3,800) in an unpaid bonus on October 31.

Wang had asked for the bonus on October 28, but was refused.

Wang allegedly recorded the confrontation as evidence, including the following exchange:

Li: "What's wrong with the knife? Four stabs and barely any blood."

Wang: "Boss, you are not professional. One stab would have been enough for me."

Li also allegedly threatened to rape Wang and cut off her hand and leg in the recording.

Wang Hongli and her husband are now under medical treatment in a local hospital. She had minor injury on the left chest and damage to the spleen. Her husband, who was stroke into a comma on the spot, had cerebral concussion.

Wang Hongli said she will soon seek legal aid to claim compensation from Li and his men.

The Hangzhou Federation of Trade Unions'(HFTU) has initiated an emergency relief fund and will provide Wang Hongli with relief fund and legal aid, if necessary, said Tan Mupin, a spokesman with the HFTU.

The case was taken up by the All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), whose spokesman, Li Shouzhen, said the union would keep track of the case and give full support in the investigation.

"Ensuring salary payment is one of the top priorities of ACFTU," Li Shouzhen said.

The ACFTU had helped workers to get back 10 billion yuan in wage arrears in the past five years and had been working to build and improve a system that ensured payments, Li Shouzhen said.

"In the meantime, the ACFTU will call for China's legislature to make failure of salary payment as a criminal offense," he added.

Li Shouzhen said unpaid salary dispute might significantly rise as the year-end approached and the ACFTU will again join with other government agencies to ensure due and full salary payments.