A laid-off worker suffering years of a chronic illness wins a court case alleging her husband's death was caused by a broken lift and is awarded 260,000 yuan (US$31,000 dollars).
The woman surnamed Chen was given free legal services by the Beijing Legal Aid Center.
"It's just another case for the legal aid service," said Zhou Xin, deputy director of Beijing Judicial Bureau, adding that in Beijing such organizations as the center have offered free legal consultation for 100,000 people and handled almost 7,000 cases.
Legal aid provides legal services at a low price or free of charge to the disadvantaged, with some 310,000 Chinese seeking theservice last year.
Since its launch in 1994, the service has attracted nearly 9,000 professionals to work across the country in more than 2,200 organizations.
According to Duan Zhengkun, an official with the Ministry of Justice, the scope of the service has expanded from helping women victims from domestic violence to protecting laid-off workers and many other fields.
Local laws and regulations had been passed in 12 provinces and municipalities to support the aid work so far, said Duan.
The expression of "legal aid" has been collected by the new edition of Chinese Xinhua Dictionary along with the terms of "internet" and "sandstorm".
(Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2002)
