An online video showing a man spanking eight of his trainees at Zhangze Rural Commercial Bank in Changzhi, Shangxi provicne caught the public's attention in China on Monday.

According to National Business Daily, the assailant was hired by the bank as an instructor for a training course. The reason why the eight staff members were spanked in front of all the other employees was because they failed to perform in class.

The assailant is named Jiang Yang, a chairman of a business consulting company based in Shanghai. The media said Jiang's course cost a minimum of 100,000 yuan ($15,210) per day. Aside from spanking trainees, the course also sees him slapping trainees if they do not complete tasks.

The event has triggered a public debate in China, amassing more than 93 million hits on Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo with 45,000 comments.

Some netizens said physical punishment of employees who cannot meet targets is a good way to pressure them to work well.

The physical punishment is a training method with significant effects. It can rouse trainees, Jiang said to the National Business Daily.

But more netizens disagreed with the assailant's behavior. They said Jiang's actions hurt the trainees.

For now, the training course has been halted, and the local authorities have asked Jiang Yang to make a public apology. The bank's chairman Chen Xiaofei, and vice president Cui Junan have now been suspended.