Anger in China over payout for S’porean killed in crash
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BEIJING: The family of a Singaporean killed in a car crash in China has been awarded compensation 2-1/2 times higher than usual, prompting heated debate among Chinese over whether a foreigner’s life is worth more than a local’s.
Citing the higher cost of living in Singapore, a court in China’s central Hunan province ordered defendants to pay the victim’s family 800,000 yuan ($165,000) – more than twice the compensation set for locals.
The defendants are appealing against the rare ruling, which has drawn scorn from local netizens and newspapers. They decried it as unjustified special treatment for foreigners – even as legal scholars backed the court’s decision.
The 25-year-old victim, Mr Chen Rui, was visiting his parents in Hunan’s Hengyang city when he died in an accident last March, the Singapore Consulate-General in Guangzhou told The Straits Times.
Citing court documents, the China Youth Daily newspaper said that on the morning of March 9, Mr Chen was a passenger in a car that was involved in a four-vehicle pile-up on a highway in Hengyang. Mr Chen was the only fatality. Three locals were injured.
A police investigation said the driver of a trailer and the driver of the car carrying Mr Chen were to blame for the crash.
Following that, Mr Chen’s parents sued the two men for four million yuan in compensation.
According to the China Youth Daily report, mainland-born Mr Chen had gone to Singapore to study years earlier. Upon graduation, he became a Singapore citizen. His parents were quoted as saying that he was their only child, and that his death had brought them significant emotional and economic distress.
Traffic accident laws in China state that compensation for death and injury is calculated based on the average incomes of urban or rural residents in the region in which the accident took place.
Using this, the defendants’ lawyers argued that Mr Chen’s family should be awarded 330,000 yuan, as would happen if he had been an urban resident from Hengyang.
But the court ruled that that would be ‘unfair’. It ordered a much higher compensation of 800,000 yuan, arguing that Singapore, where Mr Chen lived, had higher income levels and living standards.
The defendants are now appealing against this ruling.
The case, first reported in Chinese newspapers on Wednesday, has prompted thousands of postings on Chinese online forums, the vast majority of them slamming the court’s decision.
Several branded the judges ‘traitors’ and demanded to know why a foreigner’s life was ‘worth’ more than a local’s.
A netizen nicknamed ‘Doctor Li Jing’ asked: ‘Are the Chinese people second-class citizens in their own country?’
While it is not unusual for a news item to draw tens of thousands of angry comments online, newspapers have jumped on the bandwagon.
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BEIJING: The family of a Singaporean killed in a car crash in China has been awarded compensation 2-1/2 times higher than usual, prompting heated debate among Chinese over whether a foreigner’s life is worth more than a local’s.
Citing the higher cost of living in Singapore, a court in China’s central Hunan province ordered defendants to pay the victim’s family 800,000 yuan ($165,000) – more than twice the compensation set for locals.
The defendants are appealing against the rare ruling, which has drawn scorn from local netizens and newspapers. They decried it as unjustified special treatment for foreigners – even as legal scholars backed the court’s decision.
The 25-year-old victim, Mr Chen Rui, was visiting his parents in Hunan’s Hengyang city when he died in an accident last March, the Singapore Consulate-General in Guangzhou told The Straits Times.
Citing court documents, the China Youth Daily newspaper said that on the morning of March 9, Mr Chen was a passenger in a car that was involved in a four-vehicle pile-up on a highway in Hengyang. Mr Chen was the only fatality. Three locals were injured.
A police investigation said the driver of a trailer and the driver of the car carrying Mr Chen were to blame for the crash.
Following that, Mr Chen’s parents sued the two men for four million yuan in compensation.
According to the China Youth Daily report, mainland-born Mr Chen had gone to Singapore to study years earlier. Upon graduation, he became a Singapore citizen. His parents were quoted as saying that he was their only child, and that his death had brought them significant emotional and economic distress.
Traffic accident laws in China state that compensation for death and injury is calculated based on the average incomes of urban or rural residents in the region in which the accident took place.
Using this, the defendants’ lawyers argued that Mr Chen’s family should be awarded 330,000 yuan, as would happen if he had been an urban resident from Hengyang.
But the court ruled that that would be ‘unfair’. It ordered a much higher compensation of 800,000 yuan, arguing that Singapore, where Mr Chen lived, had higher income levels and living standards.
The defendants are now appealing against this ruling.
The case, first reported in Chinese newspapers on Wednesday, has prompted thousands of postings on Chinese online forums, the vast majority of them slamming the court’s decision.
Several branded the judges ‘traitors’ and demanded to know why a foreigner’s life was ‘worth’ more than a local’s.
A netizen nicknamed ‘Doctor Li Jing’ asked: ‘Are the Chinese people second-class citizens in their own country?’
While it is not unusual for a news item to draw tens of thousands of angry comments online, newspapers have jumped on the bandwagon.
A columnist in the state-controlled Global Times argued that ‘a life is a life’ and that ‘the standard should be the same for everyone’.
But legal experts who spoke to The Straits Times found no fault with the ruling. Law scholar Gong Xiantian, of Peking University, said that while the law makes no special mention of foreigners, the court did right in granting a higher compensation since the victim lived in a place with higher living costs.
‘The court considered things from the principle of fairness,’ he said columnist in the state-controlled Global Times argued that ‘a life is a life’ and that ‘the standard should be the same for everyone’.
But legal experts who spoke to The Straits Times found no fault with the ruling. Law scholar Gong Xiantian, of Peking University, said that while the law makes no special mention of foreigners, the court did right in granting a higher compensation since the victim lived in a place with higher living costs.
‘The court considered things from the principle of fairness,’ he said
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Fair mah, at least the judge in beijin are getting wiser and more impartial, last time, i think you get nothing. I am glad that china really mark up their court.
It kind of the same if westerner get hit here, the family would had sue for more than a local singaporeans, and we hv to accept that, but the problem now is, a romanian envoy here can hit a few guys here and still can go free. That is something I hate about laws, what is so big deal about immunity, are ambassador or envoys not human??? By right, they are oblige to respect the laws of the country they are in more seriously than a local.
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FT.
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haha this is the cost of a passport. no wonder they wanna come here. suckers
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Originally posted by Clivebenss:
FT.
Foreign Tourist -
Originally posted by angel7030:
Fair mah, at least the judge in beijin are getting wiser and more impartial, last time, i think you get nothing. I am glad that china really mark up their court.
It kind of the same if westerner get hit here, the family would had sue for more than a local singaporeans, and we hv to accept that, but the problem now is, a romanian envoy here can hit a few guys here and still can go free. That is something I hate about laws, what is so big deal about immunity, are ambassador or envoys not human??? By right, they are oblige to respect the laws of the country they are in more seriously than a local.
Spore still unable to bring back the hit and run romanian envoy?
They got immunity doesnt mean they can kill sporean and leave spore.
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It is heartening that China is fair-minded. UPlift my spirit to know that China cares when our own country leaders don't.
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Read carefully...the 'Singaporean' is a New citizen who obtain the citizenship after studying in Singapore. He is a local PRC borned in China.
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Originally posted by likeyou:
Spore still unable to bring back the hit and run romanian envoy?
They got immunity doesnt mean they can kill sporean and leave spore.
Ironically, the victim is a FT from Malaysia.
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Originally posted by Junyang700:
Ironically, the victim is a FT from Malaysia.
Incidents involving Singaporeans will be less as there are more foreigners here than locals. Simple logic.
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Originally posted by angel7030:
Fair mah, at least the judge in beijin are getting wiser and more impartial, last time, i think you get nothing. I am glad that china really mark up their court.
It kind of the same if westerner get hit here, the family would had sue for more than a local singaporeans, and we hv to accept that, but the problem now is, a romanian envoy here can hit a few guys here and still can go free. That is something I hate about laws, what is so big deal about immunity, are ambassador or envoys not human??? By right, they are oblige to respect the laws of the country they are in more seriously than a local.
why don't you FAKE ROC stop getting into this thread.
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Huh?? what happen, why me again???
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Originally posted by likeyou:
Spore still unable to bring back the hit and run romanian envoy?
They got immunity doesnt mean they can kill sporean and leave spore.
I think International World governing convention in Geneva hv to relook into envoys immunity laws. At the moment, envoys are enjoying life without fear of getting with the local laws. Like King and Queen. -
The different in China is laws with Singapore is that there is no appealing, the court decision is the final decision representing the communist party Government.
And also the difference in China governing and Singapore is that there is no debate or dialogue in any decision or budget make, the Communist party Govt make the final decision. Any toms and dicks who try to be funny and gather protest or whatsoever will have to face their AK47, soviet A13 tanks and their 9 Div and 13 Div liberation Army.
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If a british, or a japanese expat got killed in singapore car accident, will he or she be compensated higher than a singaporean, because they came from a place with higher cost of living than singapore?
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Originally posted by Wmyongj:
Read carefully...the 'Singaporean' is a New citizen who obtain the citizenship after studying in Singapore. He is a local PRC borned in China.
what has that got to do with anything?
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For that matter, if a Singaporean tourist were killed in Australia, would he be compensated less than an australian, just because he came from a place with lower cost of living?
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You guy got it wrong of my post. The local chinese argue that this 'Singaporean' is cheapo because he is actually a local Chinese PRC who change identity, so he should not be compensated like a foriegner. On the other hand, the other PRC played things up saying the Singaporean is Chinese and not Angmo and Singapore is a cheap place for food and accodations comparing with 1st tier city now. Singapore is not longer diff in living standard from thier own PRC city. get it? I
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Originally posted by sgdiehard:
If a british, or a japanese expat got killed in singapore car accident, will he or she be compensated higher than a singaporean, because they came from a place with higher cost of living than singapore?
Compensation is calculated in a way of what and who you are, and if provern that was what the cost of living and earning power of the killed one, I think the court have all the rite to justify the payment, no only in term of the country you are from, but also your bad ground, your position and your family condition.This is not something just for overseas matter. Even locally, if you talk about claiming insurance from a third party, you get your lawyer to underwrite the designation, social status, earning power and other loses to justify a higher claim. And the court will rule it base on the nos of years the killed one would had lived and earned.
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Originally posted by Wmyongj:
You guy got it wrong of my post. The local chinese argue that this 'Singaporean' is cheapo because he is actually a local Chinese PRC who change identity, so he should not be compensated like a foriegner. On the other hand, the other PRC played things up saying the Singaporean is Chinese and not Angmo and Singapore is a cheap place for food and accodations comparing with 1st tier city now. Singapore is not longer diff in living standard from thier own PRC city. get it? I
They will say the same thing if an ABC were compensated more than a local chinese. Some chinese netizens are like some singaporean who think that the angmo's life is more costly than chinese or asian. They don't enhance the value of life of the angmo, asian or chinese, they just cheapen their own life and identity.
I won't be too bothered about that. -
I sometime amazed at how singaporean comprehend Chinese way of communicating?
Is it really the money althought as sited as the reason of protest or the hidden message.....that the Singapore passport holder was infact perceived as a PRC borned origin thereby should not be treated differently between their own citizen vs PRC origin.
Singaporean may focus on Money but in this case the hidden message perharps are for those who left China.....and take up 2nd passport in the US or other developed nations.
Again because we are small countries we have no human rights protection it is always safed to be pick on....
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so if an ex singaporean holding british passport were killed in Singapore, would he be compensated more than a singaporean?
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Originally posted by angel7030:
Compensation is calculated in a way of what and who you are, and if provern that was what the cost of living and earning power of the killed one, I think the court have all the rite to justify the payment, no only in term of the country you are from, but also your bad ground, your position and your family condition.This is not something just for overseas matter. Even locally, if you talk about claiming insurance from a third party, you get your lawyer to underwrite the designation, social status, earning power and other loses to justify a higher claim. And the court will rule it base on the nos of years the killed one would had lived and earned.
there is no dispute on how compensation was calculated by the court of law, but the link between compensation and nationality. -
Originally posted by sgdiehard:
there is no dispute on how compensation was calculated by the court of law, but the link between compensation and nationality.
i think if u look at it, is said that the cost of living of the particular person living in that particular country is taken into account, not really on the nationality. If a bangala worker died here, the workmen compensation will calculate his singapore earning power and spending, not bangadesh one, so his dependents get more than what it is then if he died bangadesh. -
Originally posted by sgdiehard:
so if an ex singaporean holding british passport were killed in Singapore, would he be compensated more than a singaporean?
Depend, you got to prove where he is working and living, expatriates are expected to get more if he died because of some road accident not in his fault.