Parents of dead 11-year-old seek compensation
1/9/2004 16:46
Officials in Xiaojiang Village in Qingpu District began mediating a
dispute yesterday rising from an accident in which an 11-year-old boy
died.
Li Fugui was killed when a pillar made of bricks collapsed last
Thursday night near his home.
The pillar was to support a shed a neighbor
surnamed Mao built in front of his home several years ago.
Doctors said the
collapsing pillar hit Li in the head and chest, and the boy died from
respiratory failure.
Li's parents are migrants working in Xiaojiang
Village.
They demanded money for mental anguish and the cost of the boy's
upbringing. But so far they haven't said how much compensation they are
seeking.
Mao, the owner of the pillar, argued he shouldn't be blamed for its
collapse.
Mao said he demolished the shed two days before the accident and
planned to knock down the pillar later since it was getting late. He said it was
the Villagers' Committee that asked residents to demolish their sheds to make
way for dredging work.
But Zhu Jiansheng, the village head, said they had the
right to ask villagers to do so and they also gave them some money as
compensation.
The village promised Mao 2,000 yuan (US$241). But Mao hasn't
received the money yet.
Although Zhu said Mao should take responsibility for
the accident, he said the committee would help solve the dispute and appease
Li's family members.
An official surnamed Feng from the Villagers' Committee
said more than 10 relatives of Li came to the city after the accident. "We have
accommodated all of them and sent Li's parents some money to show our
regrets."
A police investigation found that no one witnessed the accident, so
it is hard to know how the pillar collapsed.
But Feng said children in their
village would often swing on a rope tied to the pillar.
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