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Parents of boy eaten by crocodiles agree on out-of-court settlement

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-10 20:15

NANNING - Parents of a boy eaten by crocodiles settled out of court with the animals' owner Wednesday.

The nine-year-old was devoured last year in Beihai, southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

According to the Beihai Intermediate People's Court, the child snuck into a crocodile pool at a resort. He scaled a fence with three other children. They then taunted the animals with wooden sticks.

One of crocs caught the second-grader's clothes and dragged him into the water, where he was eaten.

In court, Liu Jiazhen promised to compensate the family 160,000 yuan (US$23,400) before October 15.

The amount is less than Liu was ordered to pay in January. After appealing the court's decision several times, both parties were able to reach a financial compromise Wednesday.

The court held Liu and the Detian Fishermen's Cabin, the holiday resort that hosted the crocodile shows, largely responsible for the child's death. Even though the pool had signs saying it was off-limits to visitors, the crocodile keeper was not at the site, the entrance to the area was unlocked and the fence around the pool was only 55 centimeters high in some sections.

Neither the keeper nor the boy's parents were available for comments on the settlement.

Following the tragedy, one of the reptiles was shot, the pool drained and 11 crocodiles were shipped to a zoo in the regional capital, Nanning.

The other children involved received psychological counseling at a local hospital after the attack.