Screenshot of the streaking men in Changsha, Central China's Hubei Province

Police in Changsha, Central China's Hunan Province detained five men for streaking at a shopping plaza on Monday after the men lost a bet in a work performance competition. 

The men were punished with administrative detentions for five or seven days for "intentionally exposing their body in a public place," and the circumstance is "abominable," said a statement published by the Changsha Public Security Bureau on its official Sina Weibo account on Tuesday.

According to the police, at noon on Monday some citizens called the police reporting they witnessed five naked men at the Huahai 3C plaza in the city center. 

A video posted online showed the men were running while completely naked. After the police found them, they used clothes to cover their genitals.

Investigation showed the five are all employees at a local trading company. They lost a bet in a work competition with another group and streaked outside as agreed.

"They should cover their face not their privates," a Sina Weibo user commented.

"Life is hard," said another.

Controversial punishments for bad work performance have been reported in China from time to time.

In 2017, a photography shop in Guangan, Southwest China's Sichuan Province demanded employees to drink toilet water as the employees did not complete an assignment.

Some employees were forced to eat mealworms in a city plaza in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province in 2016, media reported.

These bizarre punishments are not only degrading to employees, but are also often illegal. This kind of culture is actually the biggest hindrance for a company's development, netizens said.

Global Times