It’s never a good idea to be complacent about the people around you not understanding English.

A foreign visitor at the Canton Fair learned this the hard way on Oct. 26, according to Southern Metropolis Daily.

After being told by a security guard of a residential building in Tianhe District that he would have to use a cargo elevator instead of a regular elevator because of the weight of his luggage, he told the security guard, “fuck you.”

Learning English has been accurately descibed by website Middle Kingdom Life as a “national obsession” in China. So it probably shouldn’t be too surprising that the security guard and understood and responded in English, calling the man “rubbish.”

A fist fight then ensued involving four other security guards who helped beat up the foreigner for around 10 minutes.

The foreigner was hospitalized and the security guard was taken to Linhe Street Police Station where he confessed to throwing the first punch but refused to apologise.

When it was discovered that the foreigner had missed his flight home because he needed to receive treatment, the security guard was ordered to apologise and pay his medical fees.