Chinese Good Samaritan arrested for manslaughter after kindness leads to fatal accident

Online community in China is heart-wrenched over a driver’s goodwill in pulling a rope across a road as a warning sign, which ultimately took the life of a passer-by.The case emerged after the driver, surnamed Xie, was arrested for manslaughter in central China’s Henan province on September 11.While driving along a dirt road in a village, the concrete mixer truck driver noticed potholes that caused a bumpy ride.With some leftover concrete mix in his truck, Xie volunteered to fix the road himself.He then tied a dark-coloured cable between two trees across the road to warn drivers and passers-by of the wet concrete in that section of the passage.However, that kind gesture ended in tragedy. A 45-year-old villager was strangled by the suspending rope while riding an electric bicycle on the road early on August 10.She fell to the ground and was suffocating when discovered by her secondary school son, who had ridden about 10 minutes behind her, according to the woman’s relative.The cable the driver strung across the dirt road was nearly invisible, even in broad daylight. Photo: thepaper.cnShe was taken to the hospital for emergency treatment but could not be saved.The woman, Wu Xia, supported three children with her monthly earnings of 4,000 yuan (US$600) from odd jobs and farming. She had gone to town for the market earlier that morning and was just over a kilometre away from home when she was killed by the cable.A relative stated that it was a finger-thick cable, strung at the end of a downhill slope, suspended about one metre above the ground.The woman’s family tracked down Xie, who had paid tens of thousands in funeral expenses.A government worker from the village told the Chinese media outlet Hongxing News that they have been following up on the case.They confirmed that Xie was arrested for manslaughter.In China, the crime of manslaughter, known as causing death through negligence, carries a standard sentence of three to seven years of imprisonment.The tragedy sparked heated discussions online, with many expressing pity for the misfortune caused by good intentions.“Good intentions paved the road to hell,” commented an online observer.In an attempt to protect a section of newly poured concrete he had just repaired, the driver strung a cable across the road as a warning to oncoming traffic. Photo: thepaper.cn“A cable like that could warn no one. Not to mention it would be invisible at night; even during the day, it can be easily overlooked by fast riders,” remarked another.“The driver should have placed an eye-catching warning sign there, or at least tied some bright-coloured fabrics to the cable,” suggested a third.“Ignorance is more dangerous than malice,” commented another.This was not the only case of harm caused by suspending ropes and kite strings.In April, a 13-year-old boy, also in Henan, suffered severe neck injuries after a rope strung across a rural road caught his throat while he was riding an electric bicycle.Further ReadingThe boy’s trachea was severely ruptured, and his lungs also suffered internal bleeding. He was transferred to a hospital in Beijing and treated in the intensive care unit. His life was saved, but he still faced a long and challenging recovery ahead.