A female entrepreneur who has been slammed for subjecting her employees to a gruelling ice bath challenge teambuilding event that saw one worker lose consciousness has denied running a cult.
Footage filmed in Kuching, Sarawak, in Malaysia, shows how the woman fainted while trying to complete the challenge with her boss and her colleagues after she and others submersed themselves up to their necks in ice-cold water.
The video clip, which has gone viral since being shared online, shows the entrepreneur, whose name is currently unclear but who goes by 'belindabongg' on Instagram, motivating her female workers and taking part in the challenge, which reportedly consisted of staying in the freezing water for 10 minutes.
The workers can be seen counting down as they brave the freezing ice water, switching to English for the last 10 seconds, before they can emerge from the water.
But one of them appears to feel faint a few seconds before the end of the challenge and she has to be lifted out of the water by her colleagues.
Video shows employees staying in icy water, undated. The ice challenge was made by a company from Kuching, Malaysia. Note: Photo is a screenshot from a video. (@xiiao.ni.165/Newsflash/NX)
After giving her legs a rub, the young woman appears to recover.
The entrepreneur and her company, called Victoria's Vitality, were criticised and compared to a cult after the footage was shared online, according to reports.
Netizens flooded the comments section with criticisms, saying that the company was "a cult" and that they were "brainwashing" their workers.
Taking to social media, the head of the company said that a doctor had been present at all times to monitor their condition and that numerous other celebrities had carried out the challenge in the past.
Video shows employees staying in icy water, undated. The ice challenge was made by a company from Kuching, Malaysia. Note: Photo is a screenshot from a video. (@xiiao.ni.165/Newsflash/NX)
She said: "We’re not a cult, we’re just a group of women who work hard for our dreams. You can laugh at us and criticise all you want, but we will keep working hard for our dreams."
She also said that they were not trying to prove anything to anyone other than themselves.
(Joseph Golder / newsX)