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Chinese court rules security guard’s death during workplace sex an ‘industrial accident’
Appeal court says 60-something man’s right to have sex with girlfriend at work is same as entitlement to drink water, use toilet
Reading Time:2 minuteshttps://www.scmp.com/policies-and-standards#participation
Alice Yanin Shanghai
Published: 9:00am, 12 May 2025
The death of a man in China who died while having sex with his girlfriend during working hours has been declared an industrial accident.
The decision, which entitles his family to compensation, has captivated mainland social media.
According to the country’s Industrial Injury Insurance Rule, which governs the circumstances of injuries and deaths on the job, a situation in which an employee suddenly dies at his post during working hours should be categorised as an industrial accident.
Such an employee or his family can receive insurance compensation from his employer and the social security authorities.
The 60-something man, surnamed Zhang, was the sole security guard at a small factory in Beijing before his death.
He was required to work around the clock with no days off, the Southern Metropolis News reported in early May.
On October 6, 2014, Zhang met his girlfriend in a security room at the factory where he rested.
The couple began having sex and he died during the act.
A police investigation confirmed it was a sudden death with no suspicious circumstances.
A year later, Zhang’s son, Zhang Xiaoshi, applied for compensation at the Municipal Social Security Bureau.
The authority denied his request, saying the man’s death was not an industrial accident, because the senior Zhang died while dating his girlfriend, rather than carrying out his duties.
In 2016, Zhang junior took both the factory, whose name was not revealed in the report, and the social security authority to court.
He insisted his father’s death should be categorised as an industrial accident because he was required to work around the clock. Zhang senior could not leave his work post, forcing him to meet his girlfriend at the security room.
The son said taking a rest was a worker’s right.
“As an adult male, it was normal for my father to have emotional needs,” he told the court.
“Having a romantic relationship is a part of that rest. He did not leave his work area. So his sudden death should be declared an industrial injury.”
The court agreed, ruling that his father’s death occurred during working hours and at his work post.
The factory and the social security authority appealed, but a higher court upheld the original verdict.
In February 2017, the social security authority issued a document confirming that Zhang senior’s death belonged in the industrial accident category, without detailing how much compensation his family would receive.
It is not clear why the case surfaced in the media recently.
Chen Rui, a Chongqing-based lawyer, said on a leading social media platform that there were two key factors which led Zhang junior to win the case.
One was that his father had to work 24 hours a day, without a holiday throughout the year.
This meant that dating his girlfriend became a proper physiological need, like drinking water and using the toilet.
The other was that his father was dating his girlfriend, rather than hiring a prostitute, therefore, his behaviour did not violate social customs, the lawyer said.
