In this day and age, many often think twice before extending a helping hand as there are is a risk of being harmed by scammers who pretend to be injured or in need of help.
The family of an elderly man in China recently dragged a group of bystanders to court for allegedly failing to help him when he fell onto the road, which subsequently led to his demise.
Collapsed onto the road while out shopping
According to Sin Chew Daily, the incident took place in the Shandong province, where the victim was an 87-year-old man.
Chinese media reported that the victim was generally in good health and had a habit of riding his electric scooter to go out for a stroll daily.
On the day of the incident, the victim had gone out to buy some groceries when he suddenly felt unwell and collapsed face-first onto the ground.
Those who saw him lying on the ground slowed down to take a look, but none of them dared to approach and offer help.
Although a young boy tried to help him, he was stopped by those around him, with one saying, “This old man is probably pretending to fall just to scam people. I’ve seen this many times.”
Unfortunately, the man never recovered from the fall and passed away not long after.
China family sues 10 passersby for not helping
Deeply grieved and angered by the victim’s passing, the family obtained CCTV footage from the scene and sued 10 passersby who were at the scene, where they demanded 1.4mil yuan (approx. RM825,000) in compensation.
However, the court dismissed the lawsuit, with the judge ruling that the passersby had no direct interaction with the victim and thus had no obligation to help.
The judge also cited that under Article 184 of the Civil Code, ordinary citizens do not have a legal duty to assist, except for certain professionals like police or doctors.
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