Drowned tourist’s family awarded settlement

A local travel agency has been ordered to pay 140,000 yuan ($22,578) to the family of a client who drowned during a trip to Thailand, a district court said Tuesday.

The deceased man's family sued the travel agency, which was not identified, for failing to ensure the safety of one of its tourists, according to a press release issued by the Baoshan District People's Court Tuesday.

The tourist, surnamed Gong, in his late 60s, flew from Shanghai to Thailand with several friends in January 2011 for a seven-day tour of Bangkok and the seaside city of Pattaya.

On the morning of the fourth day, Gong drowned while swimming in Pattaya, the court said.

The tour guide, who was accompanying a pregnant woman in a nearby bar, immediately went out to rescue Gong, but did not get to him in time.

Gong's wife and daughter filed the lawsuit against the travel agency in October 2012, demanding 400,000 yuan in compensation for his death.

In court, the travel agency argued that its guide had warned the tourists that swimming could be dangerous.

The travel agency also noted that it was impossible for the guide to keep an eye on all of the tourists, who were out on their own that morning.

The travel agency later paid the travel and accommodation expenses for Gong's family to go to Thailand to make arrangements for his body.

The court ruled that although the travel agency wasn't directly responsible for Gong's death, there were holes in its supervision of the tourists.

As a professional tour organizer, the court said the travel agency should have been able to anticipate potential dangers to its clients and plan accordingly, according to the press release.

Consequently, the court ordered it to pay 35 percent of the compensation that the plaintiffs demanded.