Parents share blame for daughter's death

By Angela Xu  |   2008-11-6  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

A HUSBAND and wife will receive 100,000 yuan (US$14,643) from a Songjiang District neighborhood committee in partial compensation for the drowning death of their 2-year-old daughter in a water-filled pit.

The Songjiang District People's Court ruled yesterday that the Zhulong Neighborhood Committee created the pit during a construction project and was partly responsible for the girl's death. But it also ruled that the parents should accept major responsibility as a result of their own negligence.

The dead girl, Wen Wen, was the couple's youngest child. Because they were busy running a grocery, they didn't have much time to care for her, and she often played with a neighbor girl, 7-year-old girl Xiao Xiao.

On April 25, Wen Wen and Xiao Xiao went to a bridge that was about 30 meters away from the grocery store.

The two curious girls went exploring in the weeds near bridge, and Wen Wen fell into a hidden, water-filled pit. Xiao Xiao shouted for help, but the younger child drowned before her parents could arrive. The couple charged that the pit was the result of a committee construction project that was never finished and sought 278,000 yuan in compensation.

The defendant argued that the parents neglected to properly supervise their daughter, saying it was dangerous for a 2-year-old child to be allowed near the busy bridge.