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Watching out for the kids

By Li Wenfang and Xiang Yiwen (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-25 08:57

Liao Haoren was only five years old when he fell more than 15 m to his death down a service elevator shaft on Aug 12.

A toddler sits on train tracks in a coal mining area in northern Anhui province. Many children there, whose parents may be ignorant about taking care of their children, like to play on the dangerous lines. [Chen Banggan]

Surveillance cameras on the fifth floor of the Jingdu Building - a trading center in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, where his parents owned a clothes stall - recorded footage of the boy pressing buttons to call the elevator several times that afternoon, then jumping in and out again as if playing a game.

The last time he was caught on camera, the doors opened and he instantly jumped, unaware the car was still on the sixth floor.

Quality supervision inspectors for the local government blamed the accident on a mechanical fault and the firm managing the building was ordered to pay compensation of 650,000 yuan ($95,000) to Liao's family.

Media reports focused on the quality of the elevator and the management's responsibility, but few mentioned the role of the parents in this tragedy, which happened while they were both nearby watching their stall.

Experts say the accident highlights the lack of legislation making parents and "legal guardians" responsible for the safety of their children. The elevator is fitted with a sign warning: "All children must be accompanied by an adult."

There are around 300 million children in China and more than 60,000 are killed every year in accidents, an average of 150 a day, according to figures released during the second National Symposium on the Prevention of Child Injury in Shenzhen, also in Guangdong, last year.

A parent's love for their child is often boundless, but there are no specific laws that order them to keep youngsters out of harm's way.

The numerous regulations covering the responsibilities of guardians are vague at best, but according to Ally Song, a lawyer specializing in family relations with C & I Partners, Guangzhou, if a guardian is found to have broken the law, they face a reprimand from the police and, in extreme cases, can be stripped of their custodial rights.

Only when a parent violates a public security law, such as beating or wounding a child, will they face detention or a fine, he said.

"The existing laws are not flexible and offer relatively weak punishments, not to mention they are hard to put into practice," said Song. "As a result, parents can behave as they like when it comes to the education and management of their children."

No parent or guardian has ever faced criminal punishment in China for negligence following the death or injury of a child, said Guo Kaiyuan, an assistant legal researcher for the China Youth and Children Research Center, affiliated with the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China.

However, he said many countries have special departments to supervise the care of minors, while neglectful or abusive parents face punishments under civil or criminal law.

"Many parents in China, especially migrant workers, have no option but to lock their children up at home or ask friends and relatives to mind them while they work," explained Zeng Jinghua, director of research center's Guangdong branch.

"But there is no clear authorization procedure and, when an accident happens, it is hard to say who is responsible."

In the case of little Liao, who fell five floors down an elevator shaft, Zeng said his parents should bear some of the responsibility, "but answers to questions like 'How should we measure the penalty?' and 'Who should be the accused party?' are just not clear enough".

It is widely recognized that children of Chinese migrant workers are among the most vulnerable to accidental injury and death.

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