Subway death mother sues city

The No. 1 Intermediate People's Court in Beijing held a hearing on Monday of the case where the local government of Xicheng district was sued for unlawful administrative action by a mother, whose son died of electrocution at a subway station.

Meng Zhaohong, the mother, told the Global Times that the Xicheng government should revoke its approval of the investigation of the death, as it lacked solid autopsy evidences and has violated the Production Safety Law.

No judgment was made at court on Monday.

Ma Yue, the then 21-year-old son of Meng, died after he fell onto the subway track at Gulou Dajie station on Subway Line 2 on August 23, 2010. The autopsy report of the Chinese Forensic Medicine Association (CFMA) stated that Ma died of electrocution on the track.

The investigation, conducted by the Xicheng District Administration of Work Safety, declared that Ma's death was not because of subway safety.

However, Xu Liping, Meng's lawyer, told the Global Times that the investigation was not sufficient. "It merely says what killed Ma, but it didn't explain how Ma fell off the platform or whether he was rescued afterwards," said Meng, adding that there was no first-aid treatment to Ma on that day, which is against the law.

Witness testimonies also said that Ma was motionless as he fell, with his hand still in his pocket. "The investigation only stated that Ma's feet were unhurt, whereas he could also have been hit by a high-voltage arc and the electricity would not be conducted from the floor but the air instead," said Xu.

Such doubt was supported by Wang Xuemei, the well-known legal medical specialist, who claimed that the autopsy report for Ma was "ridiculous and irresponsible" since a wound on Ma's jaw may prove that he was caught by the electrical current on the platform.

However, expert appraisal of the investigation denied such potential electricity leakage, the Xicheng government countered at court.

Meanwhile, the surveillance video at the station was allegedly deleted automatically by the system, but the Fayuan Forensic Science Evidence Expertise Center did not rule out the possibility of man-made deletion, according to Meng.

Evidence raised by Meng was not recognized by the Xicheng government and the Beijing Subway Company refuted it as speculation.

An anonymous court legal medical specialist, who conducted Ma's autopsy, told the Global Times that it was irresponsible for Wang to jump to conclusions as she did not handle the case herself.

"Her judgment is based only on photographs, which is not solid," the specialist said, adding that the autopsy report of CFMA is accurate.

For the last three years Meng has appealed for the installation of safety gates in the subway to avoid a similar tragedy, but her appeal has fallen on deaf ears.