Outrage as China programmer’s toilet death ruled non-work-related for being ‘not at desk’

Public anger has surged on mainland social media after authorities declined to classify the death of a programmer in his company’s toilet as work-related.

According to Jiupai News, Xing Zhi, a 39-year-old programmer from Shenzhen and father of two, died in his company’s toilet in April.

After clocking in that morning, Xing went directly to a second-floor toilet instead of his 11th-floor desk and never returned.

He was later discovered collapsed in the toilet and was pronounced dead after resuscitation attempts failed. The cause of death has not been disclosed.

The company sought recognition for his death as work-related, but the local human resources and social security bureau dismissed the application in July.

The bureau stated that Xing was “neither at his workstation nor working” when discovered. They reasoned that because he had gone straight to the toilet after checking in, without turning on his computer or starting work, he had “not yet reported for duty.”