A chef in China has spoken out after facing criticism online for rushing shirtless to save a female customer who was choking at a restaurant, saying he had no time to think about anything other than saving a life.
The incident occurred on June 14 at a grilled fish restaurant in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, when a woman suddenly began choking on a piece of food while dining with friends.
People at the table and restaurant staff immediately attempted to help using the Heimlich manoeuvre, but the obstruction could not be dislodged.
Hearing the commotion from the kitchen on the second floor, chef Liu rushed downstairs to assist.
According to reports, Liu had been working in the kitchen without a shirt after recently suffering burns from hot oil. In his haste to respond, he grabbed a T-shirt and ran downstairs, but did not have enough time to put it on before reaching the customer.
Video footage showed Liu performing the Heimlich manoeuvre on the woman before successfully helping her expel the object after approximately two minutes.
The woman was eventually able to cough out the obstruction and escaped serious injury.
However, after the footage went viral, some social media users questioned why the chef approached a female customer while shirtless, prompting a wave of criticism online.
In response, Liu posted a video explaining the circumstances behind the incident.
“Many people have asked why I wasn’t wearing a shirt when I helped her. A few days earlier, I was accidentally splashed with hot oil in the kitchen and my injuries had not healed yet.
“The emergency happened so suddenly. Once I realised the situation, I rushed downstairs immediately,” he explained.
Liu added that he was aware his appearance might be considered inappropriate and attempted to put on his shirt as soon as possible before continuing to assist the customer.
Reports indicated that gauze covering his abdominal burn injuries could clearly be seen in the footage.
The chef also revealed that the force required during the rescue caused blisters from his burn injuries to burst, forcing him to seek further treatment at hospital afterwards.
Despite being praised by many people for his quick actions, Liu admitted that the criticism had affected him emotionally.
“These comments have impacted my daily life. Friends keep asking me questions whenever they see me,” he said.
Liu said he removed some negative comments and issued a public explanation after seeing accusations suggesting his actions could be misunderstood.
“At that moment, I wasn’t thinking about anything else. I heard people shouting urgently and knew something serious had happened downstairs,” he said.
He also expressed concern that the online controversy could place unnecessary pressure on the woman he rescued.
“The customer has a family, children and colleagues. I don’t want this incident to create more stress for her,” he said.
When asked whether he would still intervene if faced with a similar emergency in the future, Liu did not hesitate.
“If the same thing happened again, I would still rush over and help. Saving a life is more important than worrying about anything else,” he said.
His response has since drawn support from many netizens, who praised his actions and argued that his focus on saving a life should outweigh concerns about his appearance during the emergency.
