Witnesses speak up, a woman was hit by a brick thrown from high altitude in Changchun night market and passed away | Wanda Plaza | Witnesses
Recently, a netizen posted that on the evening of June 22nd, her younger sister passed away in the night market snack street of Wanda Plaza on Hongqi Street in Changchun City, Jilin Province, when she was hit by a brick thrown from a high altitude.
On July 10th, a Red Star News reporter contacted the victim's sister, Ms. Lou. Ms. Lou claimed that her sister is 28 years old and visited her high school classmates in Changchun from Beijing on June 22nd. That night, while shopping at the Wanda Plaza night market, she was hit and killed by a brick thrown from high altitude. Ms. Lou said that the police told her that the suspect was a man in Jiangxi in his 20s. Red Star News reporters learned from multiple sources that the man had previously dropped a canned cola from a height on June 17th. Witnesses told reporters that the man had also thrown bricks and beverage bottles in the first few hours of the day of the incident, and someone called the police, and the police had called the police.
Screenshot of online video transmission
Ms. Lou said that the family members of the suspect said that the suspect was mentally ill, and the police are currently conducting a psychiatric appraisal. In addition, the property management of Wanda Apartments has communicated with Ms. Lou, stating that Ms. Lou can sue the property through legal means. Regarding this, the property manager of Wanda Plaza Apartments stated that it is inconvenient to be interviewed.
A staff member of the Chaoyang District Branch of Changchun Public Security Bureau stated that the case was handled by the Hongqi Street Police Station and they are not very familiar with the specific circumstances of the case; The person in charge of the Hongqi Street Police Station declined the interview.
Xiaolou
Killed by being hit in the head by a brick thrown from high altitude
The same event occurred at the same location on the same day
Before being hit by the brick thrown from the rooftop of the 33rd floor building, the victim Xiaolou was a legal worker and a well behaved and sensible younger sister. She was 28 years old and unmarried. After graduating from university, she stayed in Beijing and worked in legal affairs at a state-owned enterprise.
On the noon of June 22nd, Xiaolou went to Changchun to visit his high school friend and checked into a homestay at Apartment 2, Wanda Plaza. At around 10:30 pm, Xiaolou went to the snack street night market downstairs of the apartment to buy food. After only a few minutes of going out, three bricks fell from the sky, one on her right rear, one on her left rear, and the other on her forehead.
Xiao Zhang witnessed this scene and said, "The four of us were strolling around the snack street. As soon as we walked over, we heard a few clangs. Later, we saw a group of people watching, and when we went over, we saw a person lying in a pool of blood, with scattered bricks and foam scattered beside us."
The live video shows that Xiaolou collapsed in front of a small barbecue skewer stall. She lay motionless with her back facing the apartment building, and a large puddle of blood flowed from her head.
The owner of this stall, Xiao Wang, was also frightened. She said she sympathized with Xiao Lou and said, "It's only half a step away. If she didn't turn back, maybe she wouldn't be able to hit her. When the brick hit us, we were all walking, and she was also walking, but she slowed down that half a step. She looked back and didn't dodge."
Xiao Wang said that this was not the first time a high-altitude throwing incident had occurred on the same day, and two similar incidents had occurred within one or two hours before the incident. "There were two incidents before, but they didn't hit anyone. Bricks and beverage bottles were thrown, and someone called the police twice. The police also came to the scene to report the incident." Xiao Wang said that after the first two high-altitude litters, considering safety issues, the vendors around her who set up stalls did not leave their stalls' sheds, and they also removed the tables set up outside for tourists to eat. "Because we couldn't find anyone throwing objects at that time, we were very vigilant because we were afraid of such problems again."
Xiao Wang told reporters that there is a prompt for high-altitude littering at the entrance of the apartment, but it is not obvious and it is difficult for people to notice. Xiao Wang said that the hospital and police station were very close to the incident site, so they quickly arrived at the scene to handle it. But Ms. Lou said that on the way to the hospital, her sister lost her vital signs.
"When I heard that my sister had an accident, our family went crazy. My parents are almost 70 years old and have been crying all the time. My sister has been very sensible and excellent since childhood, and she has a good relationship with her family, which is really hard to accept."
The suspect is suspected to have a mental illness
Five days ago, there was also a high-altitude throwing that almost hit a person
Ms. Lou told Red Star News reporters that the police had told her that the person throwing the bricks was a man in his twenties from Jiangxi who had no fixed job. He arrived in Changchun more than ten days before the incident and rented a daily rental apartment in Wanda Plaza. Ms. Lou said that the police told her that the suspect's family said that the suspect had mental illness. "Now his mother has proposed to do psychiatric identification, and is waiting for the results of this."
In addition, Red Star News reporters have learned from multiple sources that a few days before Xiaolou's unfortunate death, on June 17th, the suspect also threw a high-altitude object and hit someone.
On the evening of June 17th, Xiao Xie was eating at a snack street when suddenly a canned cola fell from in front of her and hit the table in front of her, bouncing onto her head. Xiao Xie, who was frightened, immediately reported to the police. After the police called the police, they did not find the person who threw the cola can. It was not until after Xiao Lou's incident that she reported to the police again. Finally, the police informed her that the person who threw the cola can that day was the suspect mentioned above.
Ms. Lou said that after the incident, she went to the apartment to investigate and found that the 33rd floor apartment was piled up with many bricks, tiles, etc. in the corridor above the 30th floor. "She directly gave the criminals tools so that they could casually throw them down on the rooftop, providing conditions for the perpetrator. The property management told me that these were materials used by residents for decoration, and they said they were not responsible and asked me to take legal action."
On August 7, 2022, Jilin TV's "Watching the City" program reported another high-altitude throwing incident that occurred at the apartment. According to reports, Ms. Li was passing through Gate 2 of Wanda Plaza on Hongqi Street in Changchun when a large water bucket suddenly fell from the upper floor, which was less than one meter away from her.
The property manager of the apartment said, "I don't think we are responsible. The personal behavior of the homeowner has nothing to do with our property. Because many of them are renting houses here, and they don't live by themselves. The people they live with are also not fixed. We have that surveillance. If it's on the surface, we can see it, but if he wants to throw it out of the house, the surveillance won't be able to."
Ms. Lou believes that after multiple incidents of high-altitude littering in a short period of time, the property management has not fulfilled its obligation to prevent and remind the public and tourists. She will continue to hold the property management responsible in the future.
Regarding this, the property manager of Wanda Plaza Apartment stated that it is inconvenient to accept an interview. "The case is still under investigation, and I am unable to accept an interview." A staff member of the local Chaoyang branch said that the case was handled by the Hongqi Street Police Station and they are not very familiar with the specific details of the case; The person in charge of the Hongqi Street Police Station refused to be interviewed on the grounds that the journalist's identity could not be determined.
Lawyer's statement:
What kind of charges need to be comprehensively evaluated
Red Star News reporters found that in November 2019, the Supreme People's Court issued the "Opinions on the Proper Trial of Cases of High Altitude Throwing and Falling Objects in accordance with the Law", which clearly stipulates that for intentional high-altitude throwing, according to specific circumstances, they shall be punished according to the crimes of endangering public safety by dangerous methods, intentional injury, or intentional homicide. At the same time, it clarifies the responsibility of property service enterprises.
On March 1, 2021, the crime of high-altitude littering was officially convicted, and the Amendment to the Criminal Law designated it as an independent charge under Chapter 6 of the Criminal Law, which pertains to the crime of obstructing social management order. According to the provisions of the law, those who throw objects from buildings or other heights, and the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than one year, criminal detention, or public surveillance, and shall also, or shall only, be fined. If the act mentioned in the preceding paragraph constitutes other crimes, the offender shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions of the heavier punishment.
Regarding the legal determination of high-altitude littering, Lawyer Wu Jun, Senior Partner and Director of the Criminal Department of Beijing Jingshi Law Firm, told Red Star News reporters that according to China's Criminal Law and Civil Code, there are specific provisions on the behavior and responsibilities of high-altitude littering, and there are also many similar cases in our judicial practice.
From the perspective of the Criminal Law, in order to determine what kind of behavior a high-altitude litterer is and what charges are imposed, a comprehensive evaluation should be made based on the number of times the perpetrator committed the crime, the time and location of the crime, the weight and type of objects he threw, his subjective attitude, motivation and purpose at the time, and the consequences caused.
It may constitute crimes such as intentional injury, intentional homicide, death caused by negligence, serious injury caused by negligence, endangering public safety by dangerous methods, high-altitude throwing, or intentional destruction of property. In civil terms, it is an act of infringement, therefore one should bear the liability for infringement.
In addition, Lawyer Lan Tianbin, Senior Partner of Jiangsu Fade Dongheng Law Firm, stated that there is no clear boundary between determining whether high-altitude littering is a civil dispute, administrative liability, or criminal liability, and it should be judged based on the comprehensive behavior, consequences, and danger. He also stated that for some high-altitude throwing accidents where the perpetrator has not been found, the entire building's residents may be held jointly responsible. At the same time, the property management also has the obligation to remind and investigate high-altitude littering. If they fail to fulfill their safety protection obligations, they will also bear corresponding responsibilities.
