Ruling in blow-fish poisoning court case

By Xu Fang  |   2008-11-20  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

A WOMAN will not have to compensate the relatives of her husband, who died in 2005 after eating a poison fish she had prepared for him, a court ruled yesterday.

The Nanhui District People's Court said the wife, Li Xiaofang, had given her husband dried balloon fish, a type of puffer fish that is highly toxic, by mistake, and therefore was not liable to pay compensation.

On October 2, 2005, Li bought some dried balloon fish for 8 yuan (US$1.17) from a man called Yu Jinfu, a fish retailer from Zhe°?jiang Province, at the Nanhui Xinchang Agricultural Food Market.

She cooked the dried fish for her husband, Liu Keyi. Soon after eating it, Liu became sick and died the next day, despite receiving medical treatment.

In February 2006, Yu was sentenced to eight years for selling banned food.

In a civil case later filed by Li, Liu's father and his two children, the court ruled Yu and the market should pay a compensation of 406,000 yuan to the plaintiffs. However, the court ruled Li had to take part of the responsibility because she should have known balloon fish is deadly.

As a result, Liu's father and children filed another lawsuit in May, asking Li to pay them 120,000 yuan in compensation.

They said Li knew balloon fish was toxic but she still bought it for Liu. They also argued she didn't send him to hospital in time.

Li argued her husband's death was caused by the criminal behavior of Yu. The court ruled that the wife did not have to pay her husband's family as they had already been compensated.