Good points olster. The point is that Cathay's 'shoot-from-the-hip' actions were designed to put the workforce into its place and forever enhance the perpetrator's careers in the minds of Swires in London. They've all done pretty well out of it and have earned themselves some serious 'stripes' when it comes to who has the biggest cahoonas.
Remember that this action would have been illegal in most civilised countries and pretty undesirable too in modern Western democracies. The perpetrators are still around and sound ever so nice babbling about how they thank 'the team' etc in good and bad times. They'll ditch you in a heartbeat if it suits them with not even a backward glance.
Best not forget that.