THE parents of a girl who was injured when a stone pillar fell on her in a residential estate in Futian District appealed to the Shenzhen Intermediate People s Court last week, seeking compensation of 690,000 yuan (US$105,744).
They accused the estate developer and property management of poor quality control and negligence, saying the first-instance award by the Futian District People s Court was not enough.
The developer and property management were each found to be 20 percent responsible and each was ordered to pay compensation of 66,000 yuan at the first-instance hearing.
The 8-year-old girl was climbing on the pillar in a fountain Dec. 19, 2008 when it fell on her.
The girl s parents claimed the pillar was of poor quality and fixed with only a thin steel bar. The property management office had not built an enclosure around the fountain nor put up a sign warning children against entering.
The Futian court said the girl s parents and an absent baby sitter should bear 60 per cent of the responsibility.
The property management company claimed a sign had been erected barring children from entering the fountain, but the girl s parents said this was done three days after the accident.
The intermediate court is yet to hand down a decision.
(Tina Chen)
