All of us have had a bad day at work, but it's all a small snack against what happened to Jochen Sengpiehl, VW's director of marketing and head of product strategy for China, who was recently expelled from the country after testing positive for drugs when he returned from a business trip to Thailand.
Sengpiehl reportedly tested positive for marijuana and cocaine. In China, where drug laws are strict, he was detained for ten days before being sent back to Germany. He worked in China for more than two years.
There is no official information on why Sengpiehl was randomly drug tested after returning from Thailand, but a police report states that Thai police alerted authorities in China about him, according to Wards Auto. Germany's Federal Foreign Office said its embassy in Beijing had provided consular assistance and was in regular contact with Sengpiehl and his family, as well as with local authorities.
Although you probably haven't heard of Sengpiehl, he has solid marketing credentials, including creating VW's famous 'Das Auto' slogan. Before becoming VW's China Marketing Director, he was the Marketing Manager for the entire VW Group.
