Police pay family of victim who died after delay

A branch of the public security bureau in Tianshui, Gansu province, has paid 200,000 yuan ($32,220) in compensation to family members of a man who died because of the local police's delayed response to a violent robbery.

The case was revealed by the Supreme People's Court on Friday.

Tianshui resident Liu Weizhou was stabbed and suffered massive blood loss after he was attacked by three men - Su Futang, Wu Liqiang and Tong Bin - while walking on a street at about 3 am on March 3, 2006.

Police did not arrive at the scene until 6:23 am, but Liu had died before that.

Two witnesses - a driver surnamed Wu, who passed the scene, and a nearby beauty salon manager surnamed Liang - dialed the 110 police hotline at 4:02 am, 4:13 am and 4:20 am for help.

The hotline operator told them to phone the 120 medical emergency hotline, but the 120 hotline operator told them to dial 110.

It was only when Liang phoned the 110 hotline for the fourth time at 4:24 am that the operator agreed to send officers, but officers from Qiaonan police substation did not arrive at the scene until two hours later.

A police officer surnamed Gao was found guilty of neglect of duty. The three robbers were ordered to pay compensation to Liu's family in the first trial of the case by Tianshui's Maiji district people's court in March 2007. However, one of the robbers, Su, had already been executed, and Wu and Tong had no money.

Liu's family then filed a lawsuit against the Maiji Branch of the Tianshui Public Security Bureau for compensation in January 2009. In its defense, the public security bureau said Liu was killed by the three robbers, and therefore the bureau should not pay.

The court ruled in favor of the family, ordering the public security branch to pay compensation and funeral fees, which totaled 116,911 yuan, in the first trial, but neither side accepted the verdict, and appealed to a higher court.

During the second trial, thanks to mediation by the court, the Maiji Branch agreed to pay 200,000 yuan compensation.

Li Guangyu, a senior judge from the Supreme People's Court, said police have to bear responsibility if they don't arrive at the scene of a crime in a timely manner.

"Liu was killed by the three robbers, but the police failed to perform their duty to protect people's lives and property," he said.

On Friday, the Supreme People's Court revealed 10 cases involving inaction by government departments. In addition to police, the cases also involved urban management officers, called chengguan, industrial and commercial administrations and some grassroots government departments