Child's death triggers public outcry

HANGZHOU - A video showing a little boy crushed by a minibus on a market street and failed to get help from passersby has again sparked public anger over the apathy of onlookers.

Experts at the same time have called for first-aid training for the public to avoid such tragedies.

The video recalls bitter memories of a similar tragedy of a toddler's death a year ago.

The recording was posted by a netizen named "Wang Yujing" on his Weibo account on Monday, showing a mother crying on the ground after seeing her son lying under the minibus.

About ten passersby witnessed the accident and several cars were traveling by at the time, but no one offered to help the mother.

"Eventually, the boy died because of serious injuries," the netizen wrote.

The video was forwarded more than 22,000 times within hours.

According to local police, the deceased boy, whose name is Yan Zhe, was five years old.

Yan went to the food market in Tongxiang City in east China's Zhejiang Province with his mother and was playing alone on the street when the accident happened.

The boy's father Yan Mingjing, and his mother are natives of southwest China's Guizhou Province. They have been working in Tongxiang for several years and Yan Zhe was their only child.

In a similar case, two-year-old Wang Yue was also hit by two vehicles and ignored by passersby and died in the hospital in October 2011, in Guangdong Province.

Previous reports said that a surveillance video showed Wang being hit by two vehicles and left to bleed on a market street.

Eighteen pedestrians and cyclists walked by the bleeding toddler without helping. The 19th pedestrian, a migrant woman collecting trash, pulled her to the side of the street and alerted the girl's mother.

Xue Manzi, a famous Chinese angel investor and an active Weibo user, commented, "We were shocked after the accident of Wang Yue a year ago, but the scars of the little girl's death seem cured and the pain is almost gone." FACTS OF THE ACCIDENT

The traffic department of Tongxiang City has said the video posted by "Wang Yujing" is real.

Investigations show that the driver of the minibus did not escape and passersby called the police and ambulance.

The driver, surnamed Gao and Yan's parents have agreed on compensation, according to Wei Linji, a local traffic police officer.

Yan's family received 710,000 yuan (113,600 U.S. dollars) from Gao, and the family advised the public security department, procuratorial organ and local court that they would not investigate the criminal responsibilities of Gao.

The driver said he met an acquaintance in the market and chatted for a while but did not notice the boy when he started the car. He felt he hit something and got out to check, only to find a boy lying under the right wheel, bleeding.

"I was stunned at the time and thought nothing, I quivered all over," Gao said, adding that he did not leave but went to call his boss to ask what to do.

"I do want to do something for the boy, but I had no idea what I should do, and I feared his parents would come and hit me, so I stood there. If my mind was as clear as it is now, I would have sent the child to hospital immediately," Gao said.

Yan's family returned to their hometown in Guizhou on Tuesday, and cannot be contacted.

Tang Fahua, a member of staff at the market, was the first man to call the police. Tang recalled that he rushed to the site seeing the mother sitting on the floor with her son in her arms. There was blood on the child's face, but his mouth was moving.

"It was five or six minutes later, the ambulance hadn't come. After calling the first-aid center and local police, people didn't know what to do," Tang said.

Zhan Guofeng took his own car to hospital after ten minutes.

"I ran a few red lights, but the boy stopped breathing before we arrived at the hospital," Zhan said. RAISE PUBLIC MORALITY, STRENGTHEN FIRST-AID SKILLS

After the video of Wang Yue was released on the Internet, viewers criticized driver and passersby, calling for more "good Samaritans" and to give a helping hand to anyone in need.

As was the case after the death of Yan Zhe.

"It's furious, shameful to see such a tragedy repeated in the cold winter. You were born in such a cold world, may angels and heaven warm you," a netizen named "Shenmomo" commented.

"We all feel sorry for the death of the boy, and we have heard the criticism from the public, but we didn't know how to rescue him," a shopkeeper in the market said.

Some storekeepers and passersby explained that they do not know any first-aid knowledge, and that is why they dared not move the boy.

The case of Wang Yue has hurt society and alerted the rapidly developing country, which has seen a slump in ethics and morality from the public, said Yang Jianhua, director of the research center of Zhejiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences.

The public should have learnt a lesson from the first case, and not be "guards" only on the Internet. They should offer aid to those people who are in need when they encounter such accidents, Yang said.

He also suggested relevant departments should strengthen first-aid training for the public.