A bank president in China has been suspended after a video showing his employees being spanked went viral.
Shanxi Rural Credit Cooperatives has said it will investigate the unusual punishment doled out by the Changzhi Rural Commercial Bank in northern China.
The video footage shows the trainer asking the eight employees, “Why are you ranked the lowest today?”
After they responded, “Because I have not exceeded myself,” they received several whacks with a wooden stick.
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The trainer is seen making his way up and down the row, administering three rounds of corporal punishment which, judging by the sound of the whacks and some employee’s reactions, were pretty painful.
According to People’s Daily China, the trainer also cut employees’ hair as a punishment.
The bank said it hired the Hongfeng Leadership Academy to lead the “Breakthrough in Performance” session.
The viral video sparked a number of pointed comments from those who wish they could dish out the same punishment to bankers who caused the global financial crisis and subsequent austerity.