A gas station attendant sprayed a fire extinguisher into a customer’s car and face for lighting a cigarette. After police arrived, the man was detained for three days for creating a fire and explosive hazard.
Security camera caught the footage on March 24 in Zhejiang Province, China. The footage was released on April 9, and reported by many mainland Chinese news outlets.
The driver, named Li, went to get gas around 8 o'clock in the morning. On his way out, he stopped at the exit, and was seen by gas station attendants to be lighting up a cigarette, according to multiple news outlets.
Police told the Ningbo China News that Li claimed “he had already left the gas station and it shouldn’t have been a problem.”
When the attendants saw the car stopped there, one of them, surnamed Qian, grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran over to the car. Qian then spoke to Li through the rolled-down driver’s side window.
Multiple reports said that Qian told Li to put out the cigarette, but the driver ignored the demand. A white cloud then blasts into the car, as Qian sprays the extinguisher right into Li’s face.
Li appears to put the car into park, then gets out, and aggressively approaches Qian. Li puts his right hand on Qian’s neck and shoves him back.
Qian responds with another, longer spray from the fire extinguisher right into Li’s face. Li walks away, his clothing covered in white powder, appearing stunned. He then approaches Qian once more, appearing to verbally threaten him.
Other attendants approach the two, and one brushes off Li, in what appears to be an attempt to calm him down. Li and all the other attendants then appear to walk back to the main building of the gas station.
The incident was reported to the police, who later arrived and detained Li. He was kept for three days for creating both a fire and explosive hazard, according to multiple media reports.
