A Dongguan worker tried to negotiate a better settlement from his employer by wrapping a gas canister around his waist and threatening to detonate it while locked in his boss’ office.

Wu Xiancai *, a 46 year-old migrant worker from Hunan Province, was not satisfied with his medical settlement after being injured on the job at the Baodun Wujin Product Company in Chang’an County, Dongguan.

Police called to the scene were able to diffuse the situation and prevent Wu from causing the gas canister to ignite. Police broke down the window after the door had been sealed shut.

Wu had wrapped the canister to his chest, and had held an open hose to the tank with his left hand as he sporadically lit it with a cigarette lighter held with his right.

Police explain the situation could have been more explosive; a tanker truck was parked not 100 meters away.

Wu was described to have been on the job for just three days in February before three of his fingers were injured in a mechanical accident. On the morning of the accident, the wife of the factory manager had apparently complained to Wu, asking him to be careful because “a worker had been injured before, and we had to compensate him RMB 100,000 as a result”.

* a pseudonym

Photo: Nandu