Chinese court rules death during sex at work as 'industrial accident'

A Chinese court has ruled that the death of a man while having sex with his girlfriend during work hours would constitute an 'industrial accident', and thus the family would be entitled to compensation.

The deceased, named Zhang and believed to be in his 60s, was a lone security guard at a small factory in Beijing who was working on a 24-hour basis, seven days a week, with no time off, a report of South China Morning Post said. Due to these working conditions, the deceased could not allow himself to leave his post and so met the girlfriend in the security room. It was in one of those meetings that the unfortunate incident happened.

A police investigation confirmed that Zhang's death was natural and without foul play. One year after the tragic event, his son, Zhang Xiaoshi, tried to claim compensation for an industrial accident through the Municipal Social Security Bureau's Legal Department for compensation, arguing that his father's death occurred during working hours and at his assigned work location.

Initially, the claim was rejected by the authorities, arguing that the death was not related to work as it occurred during a private affair. So, in 2016, Zhang Xiaoshi sued the factory and the social security authority, holding that since his father was physically present at the site at all times, any act he performed, even if for himself, was rendered an unavoidable necessity, the publication said.

The court finally held in favour of Zhang Xiaoshi, saying that since Zhang senior died in his workplace at working hours and could not simply walk off his post, the death was work related. Both the factory and the social security bureau appealed, but the higher court affirmed the judgment.

In February 2017, the social security bureau confirmed the classification of Zhang's death as an industrial accident in an official document, but the amount that was paid into the family was not revealed.

It is not clear why the case, which was resolved long ago, has rekindled the media's attention. Chongqing-based lawyer Chen Rui commented that there were two key factors in the court's decision: First, Zhang's around-the-clock work schedule made ordinary personal acts such as seeing his girlfriend equivalent to eating or using the restroom; second, since he was with a partner, rather than engaging in an illicit act, his conduct was not deemed contrary to social norms.

The unusual case has become a topic of discussion across Chinese social media, questioning labour rights, workplace conditions, and the dividing lines between personal life and professional duties.