Travel agency suspends officials after child abuse scandal

SHANGHAI: China’s leading online travel agency said it had suspended two top officials after disturbing video footage of workers abusing toddlers at a company daycare went viral, sparking nationwide outrage.

Clips began to surface last week showing young children of Ctrip employees being roughly handled, and punished by being force-fed what parents claimed was spicy mustard at the company’s Shanghai headquarters.

Shi Qi, a group vice-president, and vice-president Feng Weihua were suspended yesterday by Ctrip pending an internal investigation, according to a company letter circulated online.

A Ctrip spokesman said the letter was authentic.

Police last week said they had detained three daycare staff members for suspected abuse.

The company said the daycare centre has since been shut.

Ctrip is China’s biggest online booking site for air, rail and other travel. It bought British flight search app Skyscanner for US$1.7bil (RM7bil) last year.

After the video of the abuse went viral, subsequent clips emerged showing irate parents trying to take revenge by forcing what appeared to be spicy mustard into the mouth of one of the accused female staff members, as police sought to hold them back.

Another clip showed the same woman on her knees, bowing and apologising profusely for her “errors”.

Ctrip had outsourced daily operations of the daycare centre to Shanghai Women, part of a nationwide organisation that aims to protect women’s rights in China. — AFP