Man told to pay compensation for not rescuing drowning boy

An 18-year-old man was required to pay 59,362.5 yuan ($9,391) in compensation for not rescuing a drowning boy in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, the Qianjiang Evening News reported.

On July 22, the young man went to the home of the 7-year-old boy and invited him to go out to play.

According to the report, the boy's mother, surnamed Xu, didn't give her son permission to go out because he had a lot of homework to do.

However, the boy sneaked out without being noticed. He and several other children gathered around the young man and played at the riverside in a neighboring village.

As Qianjiang Evening News reported, the boy fell into the river with another child while playing. The panic-stricken children on shore asked the 18-year-old man, the eldest among them, to save the two boys in the river but he ignored their appeal.

The children pulled one boy onto the shore, but failed to save the 7-year-old because he was too far to catch.

A grieving and angry Xu sued all of his sons' playmates as well as their parents.

The local court only convicted the 18-year-old man. The court ruled that the man, who had brought the children to play at the water's edge and didn't save the drowning boy, should bear corresponding liability for compensation.