8 makeshift hospital workers repeat blackmail ploy
Eight people who worked at a local makeshift hospital have been placed under restrictive measures for allegedly blackmailing a labor agency, Shanghai police said on Tuesday.
Police in suburban Songjiang District received a report on April 30 that the suspects threatened to jump off a building if the labor agency did not pay them 30,000 yuan (US$4,500) each to compensate for the "bad working conditions" they suffered at the makeshift hospital.
Police arrive at the scene of a makeshift hospital in Songjiang District where eight workers threatened to jump off a building if their demands were not met on April 30.
The suspects, who had worked at the hospital meant for COVID-19 patients, complained about the alleged toil and bad accommodation and even tried to talk their fellow workers into going on strike, police said.
However, police found that the suspects had secured 40,000 yuan on the same excuses from another agency earlier in April when working at a makeshift hospital in another district.
The suspects then confessed that they got themselves employed at makeshift hospitals only to claim compensation from labor agencies on false pretexts about their working conditions.
The eight could face the criminal charge of blackmailing, police said.
Police talk to the suspects.
