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Good Samaritans often extorted
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THE Good Samaritan debate on whether to help those in need has reignited after the suicide of a villager who was hounded for compensation from an injured citizen.
Wu Weiqing, a 45-year-old garbage collector in Dongyuan County, Guangdong Province, drowned himself in a pond near his village on January 2. Prior to his suicide, he told his daughter, Wu Haiyan, the injured party’s family demanded he pay 200,000 yuan (US$32,700) in compensation following a road accident.
On December 31, 79-year-old Zhou Huoqian fell on a rural paved road as Wu passed him on a motorbike. Zhou insisted that Wu’s motorbike hit him, but Wu denied it and the two argued.
Zhou Yuqin, who lived nearby, said he came over to help the senior, but failed. He then asked Wu to first send the senior citizen to the village’s clinic. Wu agreed and carried Zhou on his back to the clinic. Wu told the police that his motorcycle did not hit Zhou. Zhou Yuqin, the resident, said he did not witness Wu’s motorbike hit the man as he came over after the accident.
Wu paid nearly 4,000 yuan in medical fees for Zhou, but he faced more compensation as Zhou is still undergoing hospital treatment. Wu was a garbage collector in the village and only had a monthly salary of 700 yuan. Zhou Rihua, son of the hospitalized elder, said he called Wu on January 2 but did not ask for money. Traffic police also denied they ever demanded that Wu pay 200,000 yuan.
Good man
Wu was a good man in the eyes of villagers and did many good deeds. In his last phone call to his friend Lan Xiaodong, Wu urged him not to do good deeds anymore.
Police are still investigating the case, but on Tuesday they said that an initial probe found no evidence of contact between the motorbike and the senior. Wu’s death reignited a debate on whether to do good deeds for fear of accusations and demand for compensation. “If aiding others brings such results, who dares to help?” asked a villager.
Several similar cases in recent years have prompted Chinese people to rethink the traditional virtue of helping elders.
An elderly woman fell in Dazhou City, Sichuan Province, last June. She blamed three children who helped her for causing the accident and demanded compensation. After investigating the case, police concluded that the 74-year-old woman had fallen on her own and the act constituted extortion.
In an effort to deal with such cases, Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, passed a law in October to protect the interests of Good Samaritans. It states that people who are helped by others and later seek compensation from helpers would face serious consequences unless they have hard evidence to prove the cause of their physical injury.
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