Wang Xiuzhi, a senior citizen, sued Xu Yunhe for knocking her down with his car in Tianjin in October in 2009. A court recently ordered Xu to pay Wang 108,000 yuan ($16,900) in damages. But Xu insists that he has been wronged and will appeal to a higher court against the ruling. Many other people, too, think Wang has twisted facts to frame Xu, says an article on dayoo.com. Excerpts:

It is hard to determine what really happened on that fateful day in Tianjin because of lack of a witness or close circuit TV recording. Wang reportedly was trying to cross a road in Tianjin where no pedestrian was supposed to and "collapsed".

Xu said that he stopped and got out of his car after he saw Wang fall down, picked her up and called her relatives on his mobile phone. But Wang claimed that she was knocked down by Xu's car and suffered injuries.

The court ruled that traffic authorities couldn't determine whether Xu's car hit Wang, but the fact that his car stopped 4-5 meters in front of her proves that she was frightened by the approaching vehicle and fell down. Many people blame Wang for "framing Xu" and argue that no one would try to help a stranger in the future.

People could be swayed by the sufferings of a person, but they should not forget that facts are needed to charge a person with committing an offense. And even though the initial court order has gone against Xu, it has exposed the loopholes in the law.

Besides, it has exposed the advantages an individual can derive by taking the support of law.

(China Daily 08/30/2011 page9)