[imagesource:flickr]

A video that allegedly shows a Tsingtao Beer employee relieving himself in a beer vat has sent shockwaves through the company, causing their shares to tumble and lovers of the beer to recoil in horror.

The video shows a man with a hard hat and blue overalls at the Chinese beer factory in Pingdu climbing down into a malt container, unzipping his pants, and letting go.

Far from just being a quick pee in the corner, the incident now threatens the entire company’s future.

Tsingtao, which describes itself as the sixth-largest global beer maker, said they have sealed all batches linked to the incident, but the damage seems to have been done.

The company said in a statement: “Our company attaches high importance to the relevant video that emerged from Tsingtao Brewery No. 3 on 19 October. We reported the incident to the police at the earliest opportunity, and public security organisations are involved in the investigation.”

“At present, the batch of malt in question has been completely sealed.”

Too little, too late. What makes the incident worse is that the pee-guy is not even an employee of the beer maker, but a ‘loader hired by a third-party labour supplier’.

Tsingtao’s stock dropped by 1% on Friday and by 7.5% on Monday morning on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

This is literally a case of someone pi**ing public trust away.

[source:sky]