Oppo fires Chinese employee for tearing Indian flag
Chinese smartphone maker Oppo has fired one of its employees named Suhahu for tearing a photograph of the Indian flag in the office premises in Noida. Suhahu, a Chinese national, tore the photo pasted on a wall and threw it in a dustbin. The termination comes after several people including Oppo employees protested outside the company's office.
Chinese smartphone maker Oppo today sacked one of its employees Suhahu for allegedly tearing a photograph of the India flag in the offices premises in Noida. Suhahu, a Chinese national, tore the photo of the flag which was pasted on a wall and threw it in a dustbin. Oppo's action comes a day after the incident kicked up a furore and thousands of employees protested against Suhahu's act of disrespect towards the national flag.In a statement Oppo India said, "Based on the recent incident and after thorough investigation with the concerned authorities, we have found that a worker discarded the India flag from the table during regular external material check. Oppo India regrets this unfortunate incident and reaffirms that this is an individual's behaviour that in no way represents our company's position. We have zero tolerance for such incidents and have taken strict action in terminating the individual. We continue to work very closely with the authorities on the matter."It said that Oppo has deep respect for India and its culture and the company continues to obey the applicable laws and regulations in India and will not tolerate any misconduct.The company saw massive protests over the Chinese national's action. He is a production manager in the company's Noida sector 63 office.STAFF PROTESTED AGAINST CHINESE NATIONAL'S ACTProtests began outside the company's office on Monday evening after Suhahu allegedly tore a poster with a picture of the India flag which was pasted on a wall of the office.The flag was put up on the wall on January 26, when the company celebrated Republic Day.Many workers on Tuesday assembled and protested outside the company office against the company management for disrespecting the national flag, demanded suspension and strict police action against Suhahu. The area was cleared after senior officers of the district administration intervened.Police registered a case for showing disrespect to the national flag, based on a complaint filed by the company employees against Suhahu.Superintendent of Police (City) Dinesh Yadav told IANS that the employees were already sore over their grievances not being addressed by the executives, such as defaulting on overtime payment, violation of labour laws, security and other issues.He said the police on Wednesday examined the CCTV of the production house and company on the incident. Senior officials, including Yadav, District Magistrate NP Singh as well as the Labour Commissioner held a meeting with the Oppo executives.Earlier, China said it expected that the rights of the Chinese companies as well as the employees would be protected in India.