The boy threw a wooden block and smashed the old man to death, and was sentenced to be responsible for the parents' compensation of 580,000 yuan and the property compensation of 240,000 yuan

The first-instance verdict of the "case of smashing the old man to death by falling from the sky" in Qu County, which once attracted widespread attention, was finally released: the boy who caused the accident and the property were both sentenced to compensation!

On September 16, the family of the deceased Xiao Moumou told Red Star News that the family had received a civil judgment from the Quxian People's Court. The Red Star News reporter saw from the verdict that the court ruled that the party responsible should bear the main fault responsibility, and 70% of the compensation was more than 580,000 yuan; The property owner bears secondary responsibility, and is responsible for 30% compensation of more than 240,000 yuan. At present, the two defendants are not satisfied and have filed appeals.

Screenshot of the first-instance judgment (partial).

On February 28 this year, in a small area in Qu County, Dazhou City, Sichuan, the old man Xiao Moumou picked up his grandson from school and went home, and when the grandfather and grandson just walked to the three buildings of the community, Xiao Moumou was hit by a wooden block falling from the sky and died after being rescued. After police investigation, the wooden block was thrown from the top floor by an 8-year-old boy. Afterwards, after repeated negotiations between the community and the neighborhood office failed, the family of the deceased sued the property company, the boy who caused the accident and his parents, to the Qu County People's Court.

On April 24, the Quxian People's Court heard the case. During the trial, the property owner insisted that he was not responsible, and adduced evidence that he had conducted safety inspections and high-altitude projectile warning publicity; The boy who caused the accident claimed that there was no monitoring on the roof, and there was no direct evidence to prove that the wooden block of the old man was committed by the boy who caused the accident. The plaintiff argued that the property management was not in place and should be liable. The boy identified the location of the wooden block thrown on the roof of the building and described the process of throwing the wooden block. The verdict was not pronounced in court.

——Restore the scene——

A 2-meter-long wooden block was thrown from the 32nd floor

The old man passing downstairs was smashed, and the rescue was ineffective and died

On September 16, the Red Star News reporter received the civil judgment of the Quxian People's Court (2023) Chuan 1725 Minchu 1991 sent by Xiao Moumou, the son of the deceased Xiao Moumou.

The old man was smashed at the scene Photo provided by the interviewee

In the verdict, it is stated that Xiao Moumou died when he was hit by a wooden block thrown from the 32nd floor on the way to pick up his grandson from school:

At about 17:00 on February 28, 2023, when the defendant Yang Moulin came home from school and passed Building 3 of the "Impression of Kehua South City" involved in the case, he took the passenger elevator elevator of the building at 17:12:21 to go upstairs. After the elevator reached the 32nd floor at 17:14:40, Yang Moulin got out of the elevator and went straight to the stairwell to play on the roof of Building 3. During the play, Yang Moulin pushed a wooden block with nails off the roof, and after the wooden block fell, it hit Xiao Moumou, a pedestrian passing by (the deceased in this case, male, born on November 10, 1959). At 17:17:36, Yang Moulin took the freight elevator from the 30th floor to the first floor, Yang Moulin saw many people watching after going downstairs, Xiao Moumou was lying on the ground, and then returned to his home in Building 6 of the community. Xiao was sent to the emergency department of Quxian People's Hospital for rescue treatment at 17:34 on the same day, and died of respiratory cardiac arrest at 18:05 on the same day.

After the incident, after receiving the alarm at 17:40 on the same day, the Quxian Public Security Bureau conducted an on-site investigation at the scene of the crime at about 18:20 on the same day, and a wooden block extracted at the scene, the wooden block was 212cm long, 7.5cm wide and 2.5cm thick, and the wooden block was fixed and sent for inspection. According to the case and the situation at the scene, the roof of Building 3 was investigated, building 3 has a total of 32 floors, and the top floor can be reached by walking by stairs of 32 floors, and a large number of ropes for drying clothes can be seen on the roof. The roof is photographed and fixed, and the pedestrian staircase of Gate 2 is attached to the outside of the roof on the north side, and the roof wall on the north side is 1.28m high and 0.49m wide. After investigation, it was found that there was a dent mark on the kitchen rain shelter on the 29th floor of Building No. 3, and it was fixed.

Wooden blocks that killed the elderly Photo courtesy of interviewee

From 10:20 to 10:56 on March 1, 2023, investigators from the Quxian Public Security Bureau had an oral conversation with Yang Moulin at his school. At 11:50 on the same day, accompanied by his teacher, Yang Moulin accompanied the investigators of the Tongqu County Public Security Bureau to the crime scene "Kehua South City Impression" Building 3 to identify the scene. Yang Moulin gave a live demonstration of the route he took to enter the community and go upstairs, the elevator he took, the location of the wooden block found on the top floor, and the location of the projectile. At 13:01 on March 1, 2023, the Quxian Public Security Bureau questioned Yang Moulin. On March 5, 2023, the Quxian Public Security Bureau issued a notice of non-filing. On March 8, 2023, the Quxian Public Security Bureau conducted an autopsy on the deceased Xiao Moumou, and on March 23, 2023, the Quxian Public Security Bureau issued an appraisal opinion, the appraisal opinion was that the cause of death of the deceased Xiao Moumou was a sternum crushing fracture, multiple rib fractures and superior vena cava rupture complicated by hemorrhagic shock caused by blunt external force.

——Court Decision——

The perpetrator is 70% responsible and the property is 30% responsible

Both defendants appealed

In this case, the identification of the subject of civil liability and the division of liability became the focus.

The judgment of the first instance shows that the defendant Yang Moulin got out of custody on his way home from school, came alone to the roof of Building No. 3 of the "Impression of Kehua South City" on the 32nd floor, and pushed down the wooden block on the roof of the building and smashed the pedestrian Xiao Moumou during play, which was confirmed by the defendant Yang Moulin's statement at the public security organ, the synchronous audio and video recording of Yang Moulin when questioning Yang Moulin by the Quxian Public Security Bureau, the identification video of Yang Moulin accompanying the teacher, the surveillance video of Yang Moulin going up and off the elevator at the crime scene, witness testimony, on-site investigation records, photos and other evidence, the evidence can corroborate each other, which is sufficient to confirm that the defendant Yang Moulin pushed the wooden block off the roof of the building involved in the case, which was the direct cause of Xiao's death, and should bear the main fault liability. Since defendant Yang Moulin is a person with limited civil capacity over the age of 8, at the time of the accident, defendants Yang and Zhang Mouqiu, as Yang Moulin's legal guardians, failed to fulfill their guardianship duties, and the corresponding civil liability for damage caused by defendant Yang Moulin to others should be borne by his guardians, namely defendants Yang and Zhang.

Photo courtesy of interviewee

Although the words "climbing is strictly prohibited" on the fence of the top floor, the defendant property owner did not find and clean up the wooden block with nails on the roof of the building involved in the case, thus forming a potential safety hazard and leading to the occurrence of the consequences of this case.

Based on the facts and evidence ascertained, the court determined that the defendants Yang and Zhang Mouqiu bore 70% of the responsibility for the accident, and the defendant property company bore 30% of the responsibility for the accident.

After trial, the court found that the plaintiff sued for compensation totaling more than 830,000 yuan, including death compensation, funeral expenses and other expenses. This fee shall be borne in accordance with the aforementioned liability ratio, and the defendants Yang and Zhang Mouqiu shall bear more than 580,000 yuan; The defendant property company should bear more than 240,000 yuan.

On September 16, Xiao, the son of the deceased, told Red Star News that he had recently received an appeal from the property owner and the perpetrator of the incident, and both defendants were dissatisfied with the first-instance judgment and had appealed to the Dazhou Intermediate People's Court.

Red Star News reporter Zhang Yang

Edited by Guo Zhuang Responsible Editor: Wei Kongming