On September 17, a maintenance worker identified as Liu was performing repairs on the exterior of a high-rise building in Foshan, Guangdong province. After completing his work and descending from the 30th floor to a second-floor platform, Liu discovered that one of his safety ropes had been intentionally cut. A portion of the severed rope was found on the platform, where an elderly resident had reportedly taken it to use as a makeshift laundry line.

While the incident has generated significant public outrage on Chinese social media, the worker was not injured because he was not actively using the rope at the moment it was cut. The situation highlights the extreme risks faced by high-altitude workers and the potential consequences of unauthorized interference with safety equipment. Local authorities have not yet released details regarding potential legal repercussions for the resident involved, though the act of tampering with safety gear in a high-rise environment is widely viewed as a severe endangerment of life.