Two senior district government officials in Wuhan, the Chinese city at the center of the coronavirus outbreak, were fired on Wednesday after they used a garbage truck to deliver 1,000 portions of plastic-wrapped pork to a community in their district.
Outraged residents flooded social media with ugly photos of the dump truck tipping its back end and depositing a pile of bagged meat onto a plastic sheet.
The South China Morning Post reported the district is still under quarantine and dependent upon the government to bring in food. Residents are not allowed to leave their homes to go shopping, so supplies must be delivered to them.
The two unnamed senior officials decided to deliver the latest bulk shipment of meat with garbage trucks. According to China’s state-run Global Times, the two officials who lost their jobs were the local party chief and deputy director of the neighborhood committee. Qingshan district Logistics Deputy Chief Luo Rong is also under investigation for his role in the plan.
“The mistake was probably caused by a shortage of vehicles,” another neighborhood committee official observed phlegmatically.
Gulf News quoted Chinese media reports of Chinese Internet users reacting with disgust, disbelief, and a dash of black humor after one of China’s top media outlets picked up the garbage truck photos:
A user wrote, “Is it really true? I can not believe it.”
Another wrote, “Shocking!! Whats the matter with these people. Severe punishment please.”
“Old habits die hard. Bats back on the menu yet?” asked one user.
A user remarked, “I’ve washed my hands and sanitized my phone and laptop, just from reading this.”
The neighborhood committee for the Gangdu Gardens community apologized on Wednesday night for delivering food with garbage trucks. The pork was recalled for destruction and a new shipment was promised.
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