If anything is the biggest bug in the convenience of urban life, high-rise buildings are bound to get away with it. However, among its many crimes, obstructing the line of sight, light pollution, fire hazards, etc. are not as direct and fatal as throwing objects from high altitude.
On November 14, 2019, the supreme people's court issued the opinions on properly handling cases involving throwing objects from high altitude in accordance with the law (hereinafter referred to as the opinions), which clearly stipulates that intentional throwing objects from high altitude can be punished as intentional homicide up to the maximum according to specific circumstances. That sounds really exciting. After all, in recent years, the number of innocent people killed and injured by throwing objects from high above the ground is unbearable. Even an egg thrown from the 18th floor can shatter a person's skull, and a drop from the 25th floor can be deadly.
Under Roman law, a victim could file a "complaint of harm by falling or throwing", simply by proving from which building the object fell. In practice, only the parabolic person or occupant, not the owner, is responsible. The UK pioneered the "self-evidence" rule, whereby a plaintiff can prove that he or she was injured, which is sufficient to prove that the defendant was at fault and can claim damages. That is, even if you didn't see what hit you, but you did get hurt, you can claim compensation from the parabolic person. This principle has also been adopted by the U.S. judicial community, which can determine that the defendant is liable for damages, excluding natural occurrence, the defendant's inability to control, or the plaintiff's willful or voluntary contribution.
In the past, such cases were usually filed as civil cases, requiring the parties to bear the burden of proof. But in practice, it takes a lot of effort just to identify the suspect. If sufficient and strong evidence is not collected, it is difficult for victims to obtain appropriate compensation. Aimed at this situation, take effect on July 1, 2010 the "tort liability law" the 87th regulation: the building of throwing items or items fall from building causes damage to others, is difficult to determine the specific of the infringer, besides can prove himself not the infringer, compensation should be made by the possible harm of building user. In other words, if the police can't identify a specific suspect and no one is willing to take responsibility, the victim has the right to claim compensation from the entire building.
In terms of punishment, the United States believes that throwing objects from high altitude, even if it endangers public safety, should be subject to a heavy fine. Throw a stone in the street and you'll be fined $100. But if you throw a stone at someone upstairs, the fine will be multiplied several times. Even scarier is Singapore. In some local communities, owners are required to give written assurances when they move in that they will not damage the environment and abide by the rules of "first warning, second order to remove".
On June 16, a 5-year-old boy died after being hit by a falling window in futian, shenzhen. The surprise came so quickly that many people were shocked by the footage. Afterwards, owner and tenant compensate 2 million yuan in total.
In other countries, the legislation of throwing objects from high altitude is mainly carried out in the field of civil law. In the rather troublesome evidence, there are also relevant international rules of evidence.
(Picture Source:Baidu)
It is not easy to perfect the laws and regulations related to the falling objects from high altitude. In 2001, ji 'nan a "tiansheng vegetable mound case" aroused great concern in the society. An old woman surnamed meng was knocked down by a vegetable stump falling from the upper floor of her house, and was later sent to the hospital. After the food disappeared and the parabolic object could not be located, the court decided that the evidence was insufficient and no one was liable for compensation. Whoever intentionally abandons an article from a height, which has not caused serious consequences but is sufficient to endanger public safety, shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the crime of endangering public safety by dangerous means as provided for in article 114 of the criminal law; Whoever causes serious injury or death to another person or causes heavy losses to public or private property shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of article 115 of the criminal law. Whoever commits any of the above ACTS for the purpose of injuring or killing a particular person shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the crime of intentional injury or intentional homicide.
According to data released by the supreme people's court of China (SPC), from 2016 to 2018, courts across the country concluded more than 1,200 civil cases involving falling objects from high altitude, of which nearly 30 percent caused personal injury. Of the 31 criminal cases accepted, 50% resulted in the death of the victim. In the last month alone, there have been several cases of objects falling from high altitude: on November 8, a 3-year-old girl was injured by a mineral water bottle falling from the seventh floor while playing on the hanging garden platform in futian, shenzhen. On November 13, a 3-year-old boy in dongyang, zhejiang province, was hit on the head by a falling metal triangle valve in his community. On November 15, a man surnamed zhou in chengdu, sichuan province, was arguing with his boyfriend when he picked up a kitchen knife and threw it from the 10th floor. On November 17, a woman in yueyang, hunan province was hit by a building splint and died after rescue. On Nov. 19, a 12-year-old student in haikou, hainan province, was injured by a flowerpot falling from the second floor of a kindergarten. Among them, have the accident that natural condition causes, also have the injury that somebody causes for.
If you find someone who is clinging to a store for a long walk and not moving out until it's absolutely necessary, they may have experienced or witnessed the pain of falling objects. From Windows, fire extinguishers and flower POTS to paper towels, melon rashes and beer bottles, you'll never guess what kind of "gifts" you'll get from high-rise residents.
However, not everyone remembers the formula for gravitational acceleration, not everyone can stop a child, and no one can predict when the aging building materials will fall. The situation of high - altitude parabolic falling objects is too complicated, can only rely on the penalty really solve the problem?
As we become more aware of the scale of the problem, we believe that the pain hanging over the city will be less than before.
In order to protect the rights and interests of innocent residents, the draft tort liability code (the third draft) has also made corresponding adjustments, stipulating that "after compensation, users of buildings that may cause harm have the right to recover from the infringer". That is, if you find out later who did this to you, you still have the right to ask for compensation. More often, because the victim's injury is less serious, also do not have the energy to fight a lawsuit, a bad gas can only swallow stomach.
