The story appears on

Page A4

November 25, 2015

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

Home » Metro » Society

Man ruled to pay US$15,600 in compensation for his stolen car which was used in fatal hit-and-run accident

A MAN whose car was stolen and then used in a fatal hit-and-run accident has been held partly to blame for the incident and ordered to pay almost 100,000 yuan (US$15,600) in compensation.

The owner, surnamed Jiang, was deemed to have been negligent in leaving his spare keys with an attendant at a public car park where the vehicle had been stored for more than a year.

Jiang and two codefendants — the operator of the car park and the driver, surnamed Huang, who is currently serving a prison term for the crime — went on trial at the Hongkou District People’s Court after being sued by the victim’s widower, surnamed Zhao.

Zhao’s wife died in February last year from injuries suffered in the road traffic accident.

After the driver was sent to prison, Zhao sought compensation from the vehicle’s owner and the car park. When they declined, he took the case to court.

While Jiang argued that he played no part in the death of Zhao’s wife, the court ruled that by leaving his vehicle improperly attended at the car park he had made it an easy target for a thief and was therefore partially liable for what happened to the victim.

Cars are “potentially dangerous weapons,” the court said, adding that Jiang should have taken better care of his property.

Similarly, the operator of the lot, where Huang sometimes worked as a car washer, should have been more protective of the vehicles and keys in its care, the court said.

It upheld Zhao’s claim for 960,000 yuan in compensation and ruled that the operator should pay 20 percent of the total and Jiang 10 percent. The convicted Huang will be liable for the remainder.

Local lawyer Liu Chunquan told Shanghai Daily yesterday that it is unusual for the owner of a stolen vehicle to be held responsible for what happens in it after the theft.

“If an owner knowingly allows someone who is unlicensed or intoxicated to drive a car then they would be held partly to blame for whatever happens next,” he said.

“While I don’t know all the details of this case, the ruling is not what I would expect,” he said.




 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend