Zhou Gang, a worker whipped by his boss on July 1 is demanding a written apology, China's Central Television (CCTV) reported.

Zhou Gang, a worker whipped by his boss on July 1 is demanding a written apology. [Information Times]

According to the report, Zhou's boss has paid more than 9,000 yuan (US$1,125) in medical bills after local public bureau's mediation, but Zhou is not content with his boss's attitude.

"He doesn't have any regrets over the incident and I am insulted," Zhou told CCTV, adding that he is demanding a written apology.

TV grab images show two 2.5 cm wounds under Zhou's left eye. .

According to the report, Zhou's vision is impaired and he will have scars for the rest of his life.

A separate report states that Zhou's left eye kept bleeding for half an hour.

"I have served as a migrant worker in Guangdong for over six years and have never faced such an incident," Zhou, a Jiangxi native says.

"I am angry because he lashed out at me for no reason," Zhou says.

Zhou was in charge of a workshop at the Korean MOA Conglomerate Company in Guangzhou. He was called to his boss's office to check a batch of goods on August 1. Zhou's boss was displeased after Zhou made excuses for straps the boss said were not the right length, according to the report.

"The boss thought Zhou was lying and 'tossed' a strap at the 26-year-old man," the company's vice president Yu Yuerong told CCTV.

Zhou's boss who is allegedely whipping him. [Information Times].

According to Zhou, his enraged boss hit him with the strap 'frantically'.

"I warded off his second whip," Zhou says.

An effort by a CCTV reporter to contact the boss was declined with a push and the slamming of the office door, according to CCTV.

"Beating workers is totally wrong, " some workers told CCTV, expressing their desire to quit their jobs.

The company wasn't nodded a business license and didn't have a contract with Zhou who worked overtime till the wee hours on February for at least 25 days, according to a report carried by the Information Times.

The boss declined to confess that he whipped Zhou, saying he just threw the straps at him, according to the paper.

The boss agreed to pay some medical bills but refused to give the 80,000 yuan (US$10,000) which Zhou had demanded in compensation, the paper says.

The boss denied accusations that he regularly beat workers, saying that he had never committed any wrongdoing.

The company has dealt with trade transactions since it started manufacturing straps in January, according to the report, adding that it covered about 100-square meter-residential areas and employs up to 30 workers.

Many foreign companies have come under fire for their maltreatment of local workers.

To contact the writer of this story:
Guo Qiang in Beijing at guoqiang@chinadaily.com.cn