Court finds sub-leaser, landlord liable for death

A local court ruled that the landlord and sub-leaser of an apartment bore more than half of the responsibility in the case of a tenant who died of carbon monoxide poisoning, Changning District People's Court announced Sunday.

The victim, whom the court called Dai Ying, was one of the four employees of a restaurant that put them up in the apartment-turned-dormitory,

Dai was found dead in the bathroom in February due to the apartment's faulty gas water heater, according to a news release from the court.

After an out-of-court settlement, the restaurant paid Dai's family 650,000 yuan ($102,310) after the death. But in March, the restaurant filed a lawsuit against the apartment landlord and the real estate agency, demanding they pay part of the settlement.

Further investigation into the case found that the restaurant sub-leased the apartment from a man whom the court called Li Zhixiang, who rented the apartment under the name of a real estate agency.

The court ruled that Li should take 40 percent of the responsibility for Dai's death and pay 292,500 yuan in compensation. The court also ordered the landlord to pay 97,500 yuan in compensation.