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Man pays off families, guilty conscience

A 28-year-old man who failed to save two teenaged girls from drowning in a lake has paid 50,000 yuan ($8,150) in compensation to their families, Chengdu Business Daily reported Tuesday.

The victims, aged 17 and 18, were hanging out with their friend, the man, Wu Bo, at the lake on Sunday, when they fell into the water.

Wu, who was already swimming in the lake, tried to save them, but when they got "too heavy" he let go, afraid that he would also drown. He cried for help, but by the time others came to pull them out, the girls were already dead.

Though police said that Wu would not be held accountable for their deaths as he tried his best to save the girls, Wu felt guilty and agreed to pay the victims' families compensation for the tragedy. But many Web users say that Wu should not feel obligated to give money.

 "Wu's life is as important as those girls'," Sina Weibo user Wying-Ho said. "It wouldn't have been right for him to sacrifice his life for them."

Others say that it's wrong for the families to negotiate compensation, saying that the case will prevent Good Samaritans from acting in the future.

Some sided with the family, saying that Wu is partly to blame since "he's an adult who took the two underage girls out, and not just some passerby."

Others mocked the case as a reminder for why girls should "shed pounds" and "keep fit" to make sure they aren't "too heavy" if they land themselves in a similar situation.

Global Times