The head of a major chain of Hong Kong tutorial centres was pictured yesterday staging a mock ISIS-style beheading together with at least two employees.
Thomas Yan, CEO of popular cram school King’s Glory, took the picture during a charity fundraising walk in China’s Qinghai Province, where he remains until July 12.
The picture emerged on the day HSBC bank fired six employees for posting a video of a similar stunt.
Among the executioners looming over Yan are celebrity maths tutor Wilson Liu and physics tutor CY Chau, according to local media reports. It is not known if the other participants work for the company.
The image was uploaded to Instagram and Facebook along with the caption “Ran into ISIS on the Yellow River,” followed by three “joy” Emoji crying with laughter.
The post was immediately blasted online for disrespecting the victims of the Islamist terror group, and was removed soon after.
Facebook users said that the photo “went too far” and “poured salt on the wounds of [ISIS] victims’ families.” One comment suggested that “they really are executioners – executioners of Hong Kong’s education system.”
King’s Glory later confirmed the incident and said that they recognised the inappropriate nature of the mock execution.
However, they have defended Yan, saying that he was just momentarily careless and that the idea for the photo came not from him but from a blind man accompanying them on their walk.
On Tuesday, HSBC confirmed that the bank had fired six UK employees after they posted an “abhorrent” video of a similar mock execution on Instagram.
The footage, shot by members of a Birmingham-based legal team during a team-building exercise, showed a jumpsuit-clad banker being executed with a coat hanger while his colleague yelled out, “God is great!” through their balaclavas.
ISIS has executed over 3,000 people in the last year alone, according to the AFP.
