Family can't blame others for son's suicide, says court
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A local court has rejected a couple's claim for compensation following the death of their son, citing insufficient evidence that the people they blamed were responsible.
Liao Zhenping, 18, took his own life by drinking the insecticide DDVP last October. His body was found near a railway intersection in Fengtai district.
Police said he committed suicide because he could not pay the 30,000-yuan medical bill of a 76-year-old woman who he knocked down while traveling to work on Sept 13, 2009.
Liao's family blamed the family of the woman he knocked down, alleging they had put him under huge pressure.
Liao, from Sichuan province, worked as a cook at a small dumpling restaurant.
He left five suicide letters for his parents and local police. In one, he said he intended to kill himself because he could not pay the medical bill. In another he said he wanted to break away from his parents and relatives.
Transportation police said Liao was fully responsible for his own death.
However, Liao's parents took the matter to court, claiming more than 760,000 yuan in compensation from the family of the elderly woman, surnamed Wang.
Their indictment claimed that Wang's family accompanied Liao back to his parents' home in Fengtai district after the accident and asked him for 30,000 yuan in medical fees.
Liao's parents said he did not have the money and could not borrow it from neighbors and he was taken away by Wang's family the same day.
The day after the accident, his parents reported him missing to police.
Police found Liao's body 39 days later and declared the death a suicide.
A representative for Wang's family said it was normal behavior to request the payment of medical bills in such a case. She denied there had been any pressure or coercion.
"The compensation claim of 30,000 yuan was not made up. It was the result of a consultation with a doctor that Liao attended," she added.
Wang Mangui, son of the woman who suffered a broken thigh bone, said the actual medical bill came to more than 36,000 yuan.
The court supported the police's original conclusion that Liao took his own life.
The court said Liao's mother also had some responsibility for the way things turned out.
"Neighbors saw her treat him badly in daily life," said Xue Jie, who works at Fengtai district court.
"She declared she would not help with the accident compensation because her son was over 18. She even beat him when he asked for money."
The court concluded that Liao's mother's attitude left the young man, who had just turned 18, in a poor emotional and psychological state.
"I will appeal. I must appeal. I will get justification for this boy's death," said Lao's aunt after the trial on Tuesday.
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