Decorator whitewashed by employer over cancer case

The family of a painter-decorator who alleges he contracted leukemia at work is battling his former employer on whether it can be considered an occupational disease.

Huang Xiaodong, 20, was diagnosed with leukemia on Jan 18 in Xuanwu Hospital. He returned to his hometown in Sichuan province five days later. On March 1, Huang's mother surnamed Li brought Huang back to Beijing with the sole intention of getting his former employer to take responsibility for the illness.

However, Shi Zhongwen, Huang's previous employer and a distant relative for Huang, said it was not an occupational disease and refused to pay for treatment.