2015年CRI High-Rise Injury Case Shines Spotlight on Social Morality in China

 

On a November afternoon last year, a discarded cement block fell from an eleven-story apartment building in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. It hit a 44-day-old baby on the ground and left her with severe injuries.

The perpetrator could not be identified, so the girl's parents sued owners of all 128 units in the building. A local court ruled in early November that the apartment owners should collectively compensate¹ the girl's family with nearly 400-thousand yuan, or 62-thousand USD dollars.

Local Judge Sun Jiao explains the court's decision.

"The decision was based on our national laws. It is a way of allocating² aid and compensation to the family of the injured. It does not mean that all defendants³ caused the injury, but under the special circumstances of the case, it is a way of securing compensation, within our legal framework."

According to Chinese law, when a fallen or discarded object from a building causes injuries or damages, the building's occupants are deemed responsible unless they can prove otherwise.

The plaintiff's lawyer says the family has incurred⁴ significant costs relating to the girl's treatment and recovery.

As expected, the ruling was not well received by some of the building's residents.

"I live on the third floor. I wasn't even at home when the incident happened. I don't understand why the family is asking for compensation from all of us."

"We won't pay the compensation at all. It is okay if they ask for donations. But it is not fair. We will appeal the ruling."

Some of the apartment owners have submitted evidence that they were not home or living in those apartments at the time of the incident. But the court says none of the evidence could sufficiently⁵ prove the defendants' claims. The court says if the perpetrator was found in the future, the current defendants will be exonerated⁶.

The girl's father, a man surnamed He, says he understands the controversy⁷ surrounding the case, but is satisfied with the ruling.

"We are happy with the court's decision, but we are facing the pressure of public opinion. Some defendants feel the ruling was unfair. But we are telling our story before the court of law, and it made a lawful⁸ decision, so we stand by it."

Local police say the lack of hard evidence complicated the case. Security monitors have since been installed outside the residential⁹ building and its surrounding buildings.

However, local police officer Yi Wenchuan says dangerous objects have not stopped coming down.

"Often people throw down rocks, glass bottles, and other dangerous items. We have been called a few times regarding such incidents. It has happened both before and after the case involving the baby girl."

Similar cases in China have happened before, involving injuries and even deaths. It was not the first time either that the entire building's occupants have been sued.

The family's lawyer says seeking legal protection and compensation is only a last resort in such cases. All parties involved in the case have called for more moral awareness¹⁰ and civility among those who may want to drop things out of their windows.

For CRI, I'm Victor Ning.

1 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

2 allocating   

分配，分派( allocate的现在分词 )； 把…拨给

参考例句：

• Administrative practice generally follows the judicial model in allocating burdens of proof. 在分配举证责任方面，行政实践通常遵循司法模式。
• A cyclical multiplexing technique, allocating resources in fixed-time slices. 以固定的时间片分配资源的循环复用技术。

3 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

4 incurred   

[医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式

参考例句：

• She had incurred the wrath of her father by marrying without his consent 她未经父亲同意就结婚，使父亲震怒。
• We will reimburse any expenses incurred. 我们将付还所有相关费用。

5 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

6 exonerated   

v.使免罪，免除( exonerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The police report exonerated Lewis from all charges of corruption. 警方的报告免除了对刘易斯贪污的所有指控。
• An investigation exonerated the school from any blame. 一项调查证明该学校没有任何过失。 来自辞典例句

7 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

8 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

9 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

10 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。