On September 7, a 55-year-old man was killed after being hit by a dog falling from height in Shengnongjiayuan, Yanchangbao Community, Chengguan District, Lanzhou City. The owner of the dog has not yet been found, and the old man who was hit has unfo...
On September 7, a 55-year-old man was killed after being hit by a dog falling from height in Shengnongjiayuan, Yanchangbao Community, Chengguan District, Lanzhou City. The owner of the dog has not yet been found, and the old man who was hit has unfortunately passed away. The local police said that the case has been transferred to the criminal police team for processing.
As soon as this news was exposed, it immediately attracted the attention of many netizens. Everyone expressed that they would severely punish the dog owner and make him compensate for the losses. The prerequisite for the dog owner to bear legal responsibility is to find the dog owner.
An old man was killed by a big dog descending from the sky. The consequences of such harm are very serious. It is no longer a simple civil dispute. The public security organs need to investigate in a timely manner and identify the person responsible.
If the dog's fall is intentionally thrown because the dog owner is angry with others or for other reasons, then the dog owner's behavior is an intentional crime.
The "Eleventh Amendment to the Criminal Law" stipulates the crime of throwing objects from high altitudes. If objects are thrown from buildings or other high altitudes, if the circumstances are serious, the person shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than one year, criminal detention or surveillance, and shall also or solely be fined. If the conduct in the preceding paragraph is committed and constitutes other crimes at the same time, the heavier punishment shall apply.
The crime of throwing objects from high altitude requires the perpetrator to be intentional in his subjective state of mind, that is, knowing that his behavior will cause harm to others and hoping or allowing this result to happen.
This case occurred in a busy urban area where people come and go. The owner of the dog knew that his behavior of "throwing the dog at high altitude" might injure pedestrians passing by downstairs, but he still threw it away regardless of the consequences. He had the criminal intention to endanger public safety and was suspected of the crime of throwing objects at high altitude.
The dog owner's behavior of throwing objects from high altitude killed pedestrians passing by, causing serious consequences, endangering the personal safety of unspecified members of the public, infringing on public safety, and being suspected of endangering public safety in dangerous ways.
Since the statutory maximum penalty for the crime of throwing objects from high altitude is fixed-term imprisonment of less than one year, criminal detention or surveillance, and the statutory penalty for the crime of endangering the public by dangerous means is fixed-term imprisonment of more than ten years, life imprisonment or death, the crime of endangering the public by dangerous means, which has a heavier penalty, must be convicted. In other words, the dog owner suspected of endangering the public by dangerous means will be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of more than ten years, life imprisonment or death.
If the dog falls accidentally due to poor management of the dog owner, such as not tying the dog leash, teasing, etc., then it is not an intentional crime and may be suspected of negligent causing death, and will be sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of not more than seven years; or it is an accident and will not be held criminally responsible.
If the dog owner cannot be found, who should bear the civil legal liability?
Article 1254 of the Civil Code stipulates that throwing objects from buildings is prohibited. If objects are thrown from a building or objects fall from a building and cause damage to others, the infringer shall bear the tort liability in accordance with the law; if it is difficult to determine the specific infringer after investigation, unless it can be proved that he is not the infringer, the user of the building who may have caused the harm shall be compensated. After the building users who may cause harm have compensated, they have the right to recover compensation from the infringer.
Building managers such as property service companies shall take necessary safety guarantee measures to prevent the occurrence of the situations specified in the preceding paragraph; if they fail to take necessary safety guarantee measures, they shall bear tort liability for failure to perform safety guarantee obligations in accordance with the law.
The users of the building and the property management company have safety guarantee obligations to prevent and stop the occurrence of infringements such as throwing objects from high altitudes and falling objects. Therefore, if the dog owner cannot be found, the possible users of the building and the property management company will bear the civil liability for compensation.
