A Beijing Symphony Orchestra musician who has been vilified by Web users after footage emerged of him verbally abusing a train passenger issued an apology for his behavior on May 17.

Oleg Vedernikov, an award-winning cellist, released a statement on the Internet saying that he "deeply regretted" the incident, which happened as he headed back to the capital after a vacation in Shenyang, Liaoning province.

The footage lasted about four minutes and shows an argument Vedernikov had with a Chinese woman who complained about him putting his feet on the headrest of the seat in front of him.

When he refused to remove his feet, she pelted him with objects, including a newspaper and a plastic bottle, and he retaliated by cursing at her in Chinese.

The video, which ends as police officers intervene, was forwarded thousands of times on Sina Weibo, the micro-blogging website, after it was uploaded on May 16.

"I would like to apologize to the woman and to the public," Vedernikov says in Russian in a video statement, which was uploaded to Sina Weibo.

The orchestra released a statement saying that it will investigate the cellist's behavior and is "treating the case seriously".