Refusal of water sparks outrage

The case of a sanitation worker who was refused free drinking water at a bank in East China has prompted an outpouring of public sympathy and sparked calls to introduce measures to better protect this disadvantaged social group.

Chen Caixiang, a sanitation worker in Changxing county, Huzhou, Zhejiang province, went into a local branch of the Agricultural Bank of China on July 1 to use its water cooler but was turned away by a bank employee.

The City Express newspaper reported that Chen, 62, was collecting water when a bank employee pushed her away, telling the elderly woman he took precedence in use of the water cooler.