Victims can seek State help under new rule

When offenders can't pay compensation, money can be provided by judicial action

Victims of harmful behavior, including negligent or criminal conduct, whose lives have become more difficult as a result of the offender's inability to pay compensation, can ask the courts to provide relief money from the State, under a new legal guideline issued by China's top court.

The guideline, which was issued by the Supreme People's Court on Tuesday, allows litigants in eight circumstances - including those who sustained physical injuries or whose lives have become more difficult as the result of a harmful act - to be given the equivalent of 36-months' pay based on average local wages.