Suspicious Urination Man... Unclear Filming Motive, Claims Arise That It Is Fake News Within China

Non-Employee External Dock Worker... Videographer Also Arrested
Thorough Investigation Underway on Motive and Related Matters

As the controversy over the video of urination at the Qingdao Beer factory in China grows, it has been reported that those involved in the video have been arrested by the police.

On the 23rd, Chinese media outlets such as Meir Jingjixinwen cited anonymous sources reporting that both the man who urinated in the video and the person who filmed it were already arrested by the police on the day the incident occurred.

Amid the widespread controversy over the video of urination at the Qingdao beer factory in China, it has been reported that those involved in the video have been arrested by the police. On the 19th, a photo capturing the video spreading on Weibo (the Chinese version of Twitter) showed a man wearing a helmet and work clothes urinating in a place presumed to be the malt storage area, a raw material for beer, at the Qingdao 3rd Factory in Pingdu City, Shandong Province.
[Photo by Weibo]

According to the report, "Both the person who urinated and the videographer are outsiders, not employees of Qingdao Beer, and appear to be outsourced dock workers."

It also stated, "Considering that the urination and filming took place outdoors, it seems to be the cargo bed of a truck rather than the malt warehouse of the beer factory," adding, "However, the motive for filming and uploading such a video online remains unclear."

On the other hand, some voices in China argue that outright condemnation is not appropriate. A Chinese economic media outlet cited an insider claiming that the location was not the Qingdao factory but a logistics company's transport warehouse.

Image Damage Inevitable Due to Problematic Video

On the 21st, the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety stated, "According to the food inspector dispatched to the Consulate General in Qingdao, it was confirmed that the products produced at Qingdao Beer’s 3rd factory are for the domestic Chinese market."

However, it seems inevitable that Qingdao Beer's image will be damaged due to the problematic video.

On the 19th, a video spread on Weibo (China’s version of Twitter) showing a man wearing a helmet and work clothes urinating in a place presumed to be a beer raw material storage area at Qingdao’s 3rd factory in Pingdu City, Shandong Province.

The man in the video is seen climbing over a shoulder-high wall exposed on all sides, entering the area where raw materials are piled up, looking around, and then urinating.

As the controversy grew, the factory stated, "We are investigating the facts," and the Pingdu City Market Supervision Administration, which oversees the factory, said, "An investigation team has been formed and started the investigation, and all raw materials at the related factory have been sealed."

Local police are reportedly investigating the suspect’s specific motives.

Founded in 1903 by Germans and British in Qingdao, which was a German concession at the time, Qingdao Beer is considered one of China’s four major beers alongside Snow, Yanjing, and Harbin beers.

The Korean importer BeerK also issued a statement saying, "After confirming with Qingdao headquarters regarding the hygiene controversy at Qingdao Beer’s 3rd factory, it was confirmed that domestic and export products are manufactured separately at different factories," emphasizing, "This controversy is unrelated to the domestic products."

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