Chinese call for legal protection for good Samaritans
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Xinhua, October 20, 2011
A two-year-old girl that was run over by a van and ignored by passersby remains in critical condition at a south China hospital.
Meanwhile, in Shanghai, a good Samaritan faces hefty penalties for helping an elderly woman who fell.
The two incidents occurred just three days apart and have ignited public outrage over what some see as the "immorality" of society.
The girl, nicknamed "Little Yueyue," is in a coma at a hospital in Foshan, a manufacturing town in Guangdong Province, and could die anytime.
A surveillance video shows that a van ran her over then drove off and left her bleeding on a street in Foshan on Oct. 13.
Eighteen pedestrians and cyclists passed the girl, and she was run over by another vehicle before the 19th passerby, a migrant woman collecting trash along the street, pulled her to the side of the road and alerted the girl's mother.
Chinese Internet users have since stormed microblogs, criticizing the apathy, which bordered on cruelty, of the passersby. Many users have passed on messages calling for the comeback of good Samaritans and vowing to give a helping hand to anyone in need.
Their enthusiasm, however, was soon dampened by the plight of a good Samaritan in Shanghai.
Only three days after Little Yueyue's tragic accident, Yin Qiliang, a shuttle bus driver for a Shanghai supermarket, found himself in trouble for helping an elderly woman who had fallen down.
The woman fell on the ground shortly after getting off Yin's bus on Oct. 16. Seeing that she was unconscious and vomiting, Yin went to her rescue. He called police and, later, accompanied the woman to hospital.
The woman died the next day, leaving Yin in an uncomfortable situation as her relatives suspected he was responsible for her fall.
If no witness comes forth to prove his innocence, Yin could be charged with "causing injury through traffic offenses," lose his job and pay steep penalties to the woman's family.
A Shanghai newspaper posted on microblogs Tuesday, calling on Internet users to help find people who witnessed the incident.
The message was forwarded over 10,000 times in the last two days, but, as of Thursday, no witness had come forth. Some Shanghai residents assumed this was because shuttle bus passengers were mostly retirees and rarely used microblogs.
A doctor with Shanghai's Changhai Hospital, where the woman was treated, said she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. The hospital has yet to confirm her cause of death.
The woman had no spouse or children. Her only relatives are a brother and a sister, both of whom declined Xinhua's requests for an interview.
Yin's situation reminded the public of a high-profile lawsuit which ended with a good Samaritan being ordered to pay substantial fines to the individual he tried to help.
Peng Yu, a driver from eastern Jiangsu Province, helped a fallen elderly woman who later blamed him for causing her fall. The court ruled against Peng, who was forced to pay the woman nearly 46,000 yuan (about 7,200 U.S. dollars) in compensation.
Despite being outraged at recent displays of insensitivity toward those in distress, many Internet users confessed they, too, might be hesitant to lend a hand, fearing they could end up in situations similar to Peng and Yin.
These concerns could help explain why some passersby pretended they did not see Little Yueyue.
China's largest Twitter-like microblog service, Sina Weibo, launched a poll this week on whether laws should be created to make good Samaritan acts mandatory.
Of the 13,270 people who had responded by mid-day Thursday, only 12 percent chose "yes" and 16 percent said "no."
Sixty-three percent of respondents suggested laws first be drafted to protect good Samaritans.
"It's not right to confuse moral and legal issues anyway," wrote Internet user Xiaomei. "I think few people would risk being a good Samaritan unless their own rights were protected by the law in the first place."
Guangzhou-based lawyer Zhu Yongping said those who refuse to help the dying should be punished according to law. "The penalties could range from a warning, fines or detention."
Though it would be complicated to enforce laws on moral issues, Zhu said such a law would help prevent the immorality of modern society.
Shanghai and Shenzhen are already mulling regulations to protect good Samaritans, according to Chen Bo, a lawyer in central Henan Province.
Shanghai's draft regulation, expected to be unveiled next year, will stipulate rewards for good Samaritans and social security schemes for those injured or disabled while helping others.
Shenzhen's regulation, on the other hand, aims to protect good Samaritans from being blamed.
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