Chinese Company Sparks Controversy by Installing 'CCTV in Bathrooms' to Detect Employee Smoking

Photos Spread via SNS... Chinese Netizens 'Criticize'

A subsidiary of a Chinese state-owned enterprise was found to have installed CCTV cameras inside restrooms to prevent indoor smoking. Photo by Chinese SNS

[Asia Economy Reporter Bora Lee] A controversy has erupted after it was revealed that a Chinese company installed closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in restrooms to catch employees smoking there, drawing harsh criticism from Chinese netizens.

On the 19th (local time), according to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP), CALB, a state-owned battery manufacturer located in Sanming City, Fujian Province, China, installed CCTV cameras inside restroom stalls to detect employees smoking in the restroom.

The company reportedly caught three male employees smoking while using the restroom through the CCTV footage. Of the three, two were dismissed, and one had their wages reduced.

The company displayed photos of the three employees caught smoking to other staff members, warning against indoor smoking. These photos have since widely circulated outside the company via social networking services (SNS) within China.

Facing public backlash, the company told local media, "It is true that we installed CCTV in the restrooms earlier this year to catch indoor smokers," adding, "Although it invades privacy, there are also benefits to installing CCTV."

However, Chinese netizens harshly criticized the company’s excuse, saying things like, "I want to live somewhere without surveillance cameras," and "I can't even comfortably do my business."

Meanwhile, China is reported to have the highest number of CCTV cameras installed per unit area worldwide. According to SCMP, more than half of the CCTV cameras installed globally in 2019 were in China.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.