The warning sign at a Shenzhen metro line 9 construction site has been forwarded more than 2,000 times by netizens. [Photo/nandu.com]

A warning sign about work safety in Shenzhen which went viral on the Internet, has been dubbed "heartless", nandu.com reported on Tuesday.

The sign in Chinese reads: "Dear fellow workers, please be cautious as you are away from home working. Once an accident happens to you, another man may sleep with your wife, beat your children and spend your pension. Safety is for your own sake."

On Sunday evening an Internet user posted a picture of the sign on Sina Weibo, a popular social networking site in China, and left a message saying: "Who dares not pay attention to work safety after seeing the advertisement?". By Monday evening, the thread has been forwarded more than 2,000 times.

The sign was located at a construction site of the Metro line 9 in Shenzhen.

Most netizens think it is "creative, truthful, accessible and attractive". Some have related it to the characteristics of rapidly developing Shenzhen. User name Shinian Kanchai posted: "Shenzhen proves itself to be the window of China’s reform and opening-up. The sign is to the point".

Wang, the director of Shenzhen metro line 9 construction project said: "Safety signs used to be too generalized to leave any impression among workers. Now this sign appears much more straightforward, and most workers feel that it is more acceptable".

The sign was not created by the construction site. It has been used by several construction sites nearby as well. Wang said: "Safety slogans can sometimes be unconventional so that they can achieve their effects." According to him, workers' awareness of safety has been raised during the past few months since the sign was erected.