In an effort to compel an employee to resign, a company in China confined him in a “small dark room” for four days due to a labor dispute. The incident became even more shocking when Guangzhou Duoyi Network Co. Ltd. made it public while contesting a court ruling on the case, according to reports.
It started in December 2022 when an employee named Liu found himself unable to use his admission pass or log into the company’s computer system following prolonged negotiations about his resignation. Subsequently, the company escorted Liu to a room on a different floor from his usual workspace, stating that he had to undergo “training.” The room had no power, rendering it completely dark. It lacked computers and coworkers, with only a table and chair for furniture, according to the South China Morning Post.
What happened?
According to the report, Liu spent four days in the room without receiving any tasks, and his phone was confiscated. Despite this, he was allowed to leave the room “freely” and go home after “work.” It was only on the fifth day, after Liu’s wife reported the company’s mistreatment of her husband to the police, that an official termination notice was issued.
Guangzhou Duoyi Network alleged that Liu violated company policies to avoid paying compensation during his layoff process. They accused him of viewing nude images and visiting unrelated websites while at work. However, Liu, employed as a game art editor, stated that the images he viewed were essential for his job.
The lower court ruled in favor of Liu, finding that his confinement in the “dark room” violated the Labor Contract Law, which mandates employers to provide a safe and healthy workplace.
According to the South China Morning Post, Guangzhou Duoyi Network Co. Ltd. published the entire court record on its official Weibo account and openly contested a May 2024 decision by a district-level court in Sichuan province, southwestern China. The court ruled in Liu’s favor, awarding him 380,000 yuan (US$52,200) in compensation for the company’s actions during the labor dispute.
However, the company responded by saying: “We believe that there are many problems with the labour laws which severely hinder economic development and are arbitrarily enforced by judges who distort the facts.”