Dhaka: For the past two decades, 42-year-old Zhan Dengquan has been working at various massage centres in Beijing. He has been visually-impaired since he was three-years-old, with limited vision in both eyes, reported the Channel News Asia.

With his savings, Zhan decided to buy a small apartment in Zhuozhou, in nearby Hebei province. He made a down payment of more than US$50,000 and with the help of the developer, applied for a loan of $US30,000 from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC).

Mr Zhan’s application was approved in principle, but when he was unable to sign the loan document, the bank rejected his application.

‘The bank manager looked at all my documents, and said that I meet all requirements. But since I cannot write or sign my name, he rejected my application,’ he said.

 ‘He said this is not a simple case of taking money out from the bank as I also need to sign future documents. Theirs is the only designated bank. I cannot take the loan from anywhere else.’

Mr Zhan is now suing ICBC, one of China’s four largest state-owned commercial banks, for discrimination and psychological anguish.

He wants a formal apology, US$1,500 in damages and a pledge from the bank not to discriminate against its disabled customers.

‘I hope it will make them reflect. Disabled people also have the right to social services. We make a living through our own efforts and have created our own wealth and solved our livelihood issues,’ he said.

‘I hope to correct the view that some people hold of the disabled.’

In a document issued by the China Banking Association, banks are urged to provide equal treatment and services to the disabled. In the case of the visually-disabled, banks should allow them to sign documents using their personal seals or even their thumb prints, however, this document is only an advisory and not legally binding.

Lawyer Huang Rui said the bank violated China’s Law on the Protection of Disabled Persons.

‘Visually-handicapped people are not able to write yet the bank chose not to provide alternatives,’ he said. ‘This is totally inflexible and constitutes discrimination.’

‘The bank does not pay much attention to them or try to see issues from the viewpoint of disabled customers.’

Zhan’s case is being closely watched in China, in the hope that it will prompt banks to better meet the needs of the disabled in the country. Even though there have been cases of visually-impaired people successfully applying for housing loans, many more have been rejected due to their disability.

Channel NewsAsia received no response from ICBC, despite repeatedly contacting the bank.