A service-station attendant has become an unlikely internet sensation after he used a fire extinguisher on a defiant smoker.
The incident took place at a service station in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, in eastern China, according to The Daily Mail.
Surveillance footage shows the attendant spraying a driver through the open window of his car because he refused to observe the no-smoking rule.
The attendant, Qian Jiaqi, said he asked the man repeatedly to put out his cigarette. When he refused, Mr Jiaqi resorted to the messier and more drastic measure.
As the footage shows, the driver doesn’t accept his punishment with good grace. Instead, he flies into a rage, steps out of his car and punches the attendant.
Unfazed, Mr Jiaqi then proceeds to douse him a second time. For his efforts, the driver confronts him a second time, too.
‘Just spray him!’
Video of the incident, which took place in late March, has since gone viral in several countries. Zhejiang Television released the original footage, which has gained more than 13 million views. Many viewers have heaped praise on Mr Jiaqi on message boards and social media.
One commentator on Chinese micro-blogging site Weibo wrote: “Amazing! Well done! That will teach the driver a lesson.”
Another commented: “Please do not take these warnings at petrol stations as a joke.”
“Good!” wrote another. “Don’t need to waste time arguing with such crooks. Just spray him!”
‘Common sense’
For his part, Mr Jiaqi has reacted matter-of-factly to his new-found online fame.
“Smoking is banned in the petrol station, due to inflammable liquids around,” he told Qianjiang Evening News. “It’s common sense. I tried to stop him the moment I saw him lighting up a cigarette.
“But he had a horrible attitude. He refused to put it out.”
Local police said the driver, surnamed Li, received a three-day detention for risking public safety and for assaulting Mr Jiaqi.
Mr Jiaqi did not sustain any lasting injuries in the assault, the police added.
