For most people, the natural reaction whenever they see someone drowning is to call for help from a lifeguard or the authorities.
But for these two men in China’s Sichuan province, what they did after witnessing a friend drown before their eyes has left the victim’s family and netizens stunned.
Drowned while swimming at reservoir
According to SCMP, the incident took place on Sept 4 when the victim was invited to swim in a nearby reservoir by his friend and the friend’s uncle.
However, things spiraled into tragedy when the victim drowned not long after entering the water before the other two could join him.
The men claimed that they tried to save the victim but discovered he had already died when they pulled him to shore.
Took body home and placed it on bed
Out of panic, the men decided to take the victim’s corpse back to his home on a motorcycle, where the journey was captured by surveillance cameras.
As seen from CCTV footage, the victim’s body was sandwiched between the two men, with one of them holding the neck so that the corpse would stay in an upright position and not attract unwanted attention.
Upon arriving at the victim’s home, the men tucked the body into bed to make it look as though the victim was asleep and left.
Family discovers the truth 3 days later
Three days later, the victim’s family eventually uncovered the truth when they realised the victim wasn’t actually asleep.
The victim’s sister told Lizhi News that the men had even come across family members during the three days but never mentioned the incident to them.
She added that by the time the family realised what had happened, CCTV footage from the reservoir had been overwritten.
Police found no elements of foul play in the case and ruled that the victim’s friends bore no criminal responsibility.
However, a lawyer noted that the victim’s family still had the right to sue for civil damages even though Chinese law doesn’t practice “duty to rescue”.
One of the men named Tao admitted that he was wrong to sneak the body back and offered 80,000 yuan (RM46,600) to help cover funeral costs.
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