British-Chinese Couple Try to Avoid Paying Compensation after Car Accident

British-Chinese Couple Try to Avoid Paying Compensation after Car Accident
Jul 06, 2016 By eChinacities.com

Editor's Note: China is not short of stories of expats behaving badly. This one involves a hit-and-run, however the British driver did not run from the scene after his car hit a women riding a scooter, he ran from the country after the court rules he must compensate the victim at the tune of 750,000 RMB. The translated articles reports on the story.

A Shanghai expat fled the country back to the United Kingdom after he was an involved in a car accident in China. Kenny, a British expat, was driving in Pudong without a Chinese drivers’ license with his wife when he got into a car accident. Kenny and his wife attempted to evade having to pay compensation to the victim after the court ordered them to pay 750,000 RMB.

Driving Without a License
Kenny worked as an engineer for a well-known car company in Shanghai. After living in China for a few years, he married a Chinese woman. In 2013, he drove in Pudong, Shanghai with his wife without a Chinese drivers’ license. He was speeding and not paying attention to the road. While driving, Kenny hit Mrs. Zhang who was riding her scooter. Mrs. Zhang suffered a head injury in the accident.

Kenny paid some of Mrs. Zhang’s medical expenses, and then stated that he would no longer continue to pay them. Mrs. Zhang sued Kenny and his wife in a Pudong court for joint liability. Mrs. Zhang is now disabled because of her head injury. Traffic police also testified that Kenny was driving without a license and driving dangerously. The court found Kenny responsible for the accident and ruled that he and his wife must compensate Mrs. Zhang 750,000 RMB.

Without a Trace
However, the court did not give a time frame for the compensation payment and Kenny and his wife never paid out. Mrs. Zhang returned to the Pudong court to get the ruling enforced. The judge found that they had moved from their former residence, and that Kenny had not registered a new address with authorities. Authorities found that Kenny had quit his job, the couple had deregistered their vehicle and had no other property registered under their name. Their bank account had also been emptied. Immigration authorities reported that Kenny had returned to the United Kingdom shortly after the ruling, but his wife had not left the country.  

Forcing Kenny’s Hand
The judge concluded that Kenny and his wife were attempting to evade paying the compensation. The judge blocked Kenny from returning to China, and blocked his wife from leaving the country. He hoped that this would force them to fulfill their obligation. The judge also summoned Kenny’s wife to court and stated that if she refuses to pay the compensation she would be subject to further sanctions, her credit would be damaged, and she may be unable to travel abroad in the future.

Soon, Kenny sent the money to his wife from the United Kingdom and she went to the court and paid in full.

Source: The Paper

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Keywords: British flees country car accident British

10 Comments

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philbravery

I bet if this happened in reverse snd a Chinese fled the UK it would be a totally different outcome.

Jul 27, 2016 17:36 Report Abuse

Guest626460

Furthermore, if someone would've tried to escape a court ruling like this back in U.S, I'm sure the law enforcement would've punished him/her way worse than by just "damaging his/her credits and disallowing travelling abroad". Not abiding by court order is a really serious offence!

Jul 14, 2016 17:46 Report Abuse

Guest626460

I'm an American who's been driving cars (3) in China more than 10 years now, and in various cities. Never had problems with other drivers, pedestrians nor the law. That because I drive safely and with a valid licence. This British guy was an idiot who did all the wrong things. There's no point defending him people just because he's white!

Jul 14, 2016 17:39 Report Abuse

greatpark2016

that 's soooo funny

Jul 13, 2016 11:35 Report Abuse

Dracon

One wonders at the vast abilities of certain people here. Despite not being present at the accident, despite the defendant not having a license, despite him speeding and driving dangerously, they are able to deduce/suggest that it in fact WAS the plaintiff's fault. All apparently, because the defendant is white and the plaintiff Chinese.

Jul 12, 2016 20:32 Report Abuse

The-Final-Say

For this reason, I refuse to drive in China, especially in major cities. I have had an ebike before and got rid of it when I found it pointless with so many geriatrics around during my rush to work, they also look for a quick payday. The victims, also known as peng ci in China, have cheated enough of their own but when a foreigner is involved they offer a "percentage" to those who write the reports and decision makers. Not to say that this case was as such, but it happens. 750,000RMB seems a bit steep, considering that someone was disabled by a head injury but was still able to twice go to court and get judgements. This is a good lesson for all expats living and working, doing business, and driving cars in China. The laws here protect China and Chinese people's interests, not anyone else. A good example of how China administrates laws, look at how they turned a blind eye for years on copy products such as luxury bags and dvds, occasionally raiding someone and making documentation to prove their worth as workers. Michael Jordan sues Qiaodan in China for the use of his image to make billions and the courts shot him down, while Apple just recently was forced to stop selling versions of their phones in the capital because they were "very similar to a Chinese brand of mobile phone". Drive at your own risk here, even your wife cannot protect you. Do business at your own risk and better not to let others know that you are the big boss, in case someone gets ideas of getting rich quick off your hard work. If you want to play their game, like playing stocks you always play the game knowing the total risks. Anyway, this is how it is here, so go with the flow or move on.

Jul 08, 2016 09:50 Report Abuse

seansarto

Driving without a license is a serious offense anywhere...so I can understand and justify the harsh penalty on the driver..attacking his wife is completey barbaric...why not attack their children too?...that being said China not honoring international standards of driving is bullshit..it just means they want the advantage to fault the rest of the world through their own intpretation and dissent..which is fanaticism

Jul 07, 2016 18:38 Report Abuse

mhodge1234

Why is the guy's wife being blamed? The article didn't state it was her car! And why isn't there car insurance to cover liability like this?

Jul 07, 2016 14:38 Report Abuse

PrincesB

No further comment to this one, terrible..

Jul 07, 2016 12:56 Report Abuse

Guest2709144

The compensation laws for car accident are total phony baloney in China. Every scooter drivers dream seems to be to get hit by a car, why else would they drive so horribly. Having lived here a long-time, I would never consider the scooter driver innocent, 99% of the time they probably caused the accident. Then they purposefully sit in a crossed legged position and moan back and forth. Since, for some reason people believe that means your injured some idiots believes them. You can't sit in a stress position if you are really injured. Scooter drivers don't have licenses, that's why 12 year-olds and blind old people drive them around. The laws here aren't about who caused the accident, they'll always side with a Chinese person over a foreigner, the law is the richest person pays... It is dumb, it is a 5th world practice without sense, or sensibility, full of pride and prejudice.

Jul 06, 2016 19:23 Report Abuse