Shanghai Daily News

A court on Friday ordered the parents of three children to pay 15,000 yuan (US$1,875) each to a family whose daughter fell to her death while playing tag with the children, Shanghai Daily reported.

The Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court ruled the three children's behavior was partly responsible for the death of the seven-year-old girl, Ding Yumei, who fell off a second-floor balcony.

On the morning of August 22 last year, Ding and her neighbors, Lu Xiaoyan, eight, Shen Jiaqing, seven, and Gong Jiadi, seven, were playing tag at her home, a two-story house in Chongming County.

Ding's parents told the court the three neighbors, all girls, pushed Ding off the balcony, on which no rails were installed on the right side.

Ding died four days later in hospital.

Her parents asked for nearly 200,000 yuan in compensation from the families of the three children because they said the children were responsible for Ding's death. They also said the parents waited 30 minutes before calling for an ambulance.

Witnesses provided evidence but the court did not accept it because none of them had seen the incident but had only heard the noises of the children playing, judges said.

The parents of the three children told the court they were not playing tag and were waiting for Ding in the corridor when she fell off the balcony.

Lu's mother told the court the children discovered Ding had fallen after she failed to reappear.

The children's parents said Ding's parents should be held responsible because they had not supervised her adequately.

The court ruled Ding's death was an accident.

However, it also said the children's behavior was partly to blame for the death because they were playing with her at the time.

Ding's parents were also held responsible because they did not supervise her properly and the balcony was unsafe.