The old father took a bottle of water from the hotel, and the son died on the spot after drinking it.
Afterwards, the family demanded 2.6 million compensation from the hotel, but the hotel said that it had nothing to do with them and shouted that they were wronged.
What's going on here?
Source: China Education Television "Rule of Law"
This matter starts with a very ordinary family. Zheng Ping is a young and promising young man, on October 5, 2016, he returned to his hometown in Suzhou with his wife, parents and sister and a family of five.
Source: China Education Television "Rule of Law"
They plan to enjoy this rare reunion, talk about the past, and see the scenery. Who would have thought that this joyful journey would become the last memory of their lives.
Due to the late arrival time, the family decided to stay for one night at the Suzhou Shanshui Resort Hotel, which is not far from home.
Source: China Education Television "Rule of Law"
Early the next morning, the energetic Zheng Ping came to his parents' room.
Zheng Ping saw three bottles of mineral water on the table, and when he was thirsty, he picked up one of them.
At the moment of taking the first sip, he suddenly clenched his throat and cried out, in pain. His wife, Zhao Ling, heard the movement and hurriedly ran over, only to hear her husband say with difficulty: "I don't know, sulfuric acid." "
Source: China Education Television "Rule of Law"
In the blink of an eye, he was in such pain that it became difficult to even speak. Zhao Ling watched her husband constantly wash his mouth and nose with water in the bathroom, and she was anxious.
She ran to the front desk with the bottle of "water" and asked, but got a confusing answer: "No, there is no smell." "
Source: China Education Television "Rule of Law"
When Zhao Ling returned to the room, the scene in front of her made her completely devastated. Her husband was convulsed and foaming at the mouth. Before she could react, Zheng Ping had already collapsed on the bed and was silent.
Zhao Ling's world collapsed at that moment, and she could only shout for help in despair.
In the end, Zheng Ping's rescue was ineffective and passed away. A fresh life suddenly disappeared.
Source: China Education Television "Rule of Law"
The Zheng family could not accept this cruel reality. They ask themselves over and over again: How can a good person disappear like this?
The answer was soon revealed on a death certificate issued by the hospital: acidic fluid poisoning. This means that Zheng Ping is not drinking ordinary water, but a thick and sour liquid that can take away life.
Source: China Education Television "Rule of Law"
The ensuing police investigation revealed more shocking details. The lethal liquid turned out to be a rust remover for hotel cleaning.
They couldn't understand why such dangerous chemicals were in the guest rooms.
The Zheng family angrily sued the hotel in court, demanding compensation totaling 2.6 million yuan for death and funeral expenses.
Source: China Education Television "Rule of Law"
They asked, "How can drinking water bottles be used to contain highly toxic rust removers in the management process?" And there is neither a label of 'highly toxic' nor any warning. Isn't this playing with human life? "
The hotel insisted that it was a "flying disaster" and that he was completely innocent of being implicated. The person in charge of the hotel asked rhetorically, "How can we poison our customers?" What's in it for us? "
Just when the two sides are arguing, an unexpected turn of events occurs. Zheng Ping's father stood up and told the truth of the matter. It turned out that after breakfast, he asked the waiter for two bottles of water, and after taking it to the room, he casually put it on the table.
Source: China Education Television "Rule of Law"
Police confirmed this claim through surveillance footage. But this raises a new question: Isn't the drinking water and food in the hotel strictly controlled? The waiter and the Zheng family don't know each other, and there has been no conflict, how could they poison the customer?
As the investigation deepens, the truth gradually emerges. It turned out that after Zheng Ping's father asked the waiter for two bottles of water, the old man felt that it was not enough to drink, and it was too far to ask for more. On his way back to his room, he saw an unlocked storage room with a cart in it.
Source: China Education Television "Rule of Law"
After making sure that there was no one in the room, he felt the deadly bottle of "water" in the cardboard box under the cleaning cart.
Source: China Education Television "Rule of Law"
Surveillance showed that when he came out of the storage room, he had an extra bottle of mineral water in his hand.
Further investigation revealed that a bottle of rust remover bottled with mineral water was missing from a cleaning cart in the storage closet.
Zheng Ping drank the bottle of "water" that his father had inadvertently taken from the storage room.
Source: China Education Television "Rule of Law"
Faced with such a result, the old man resolutely denied it, insisting that he was holding water that was no problem, and the one with the rust remover must have been given by the hotel waiter.
The person in charge of the hotel retorted: "There is no possibility that the waiter will take the wrong thing at all." The mineral water we offer is fully opened and has a single storage location. And the two bottles of water taken out by the waiter were also taken out in a special box for putting water. The storage room is the operation room of the cleaning staff, and it is full of hygiene products, so the bottle of toxic water must have been taken by the old man in the storage room. "
Source: China Education Television "Rule of Law"
After further investigation by the police, it was finally determined that the water that Zheng Ping drank was indeed a rust remover that his father had inadvertently returned. At this point, the ins and outs of the whole incident have finally come to light.
Source: China Education Television "Rule of Law"
However, it didn't end there. Although the Zheng family admits that the poisoned water was brought back by their own family, they raise new questions: Why did this toxic substance appear in the hotel? Why isn't there a special person to take care of it? They believe that it was these negligences that caused the tragedy.
"The lock-up room was one reason, and there were chemicals in the room," the Zheng family said. Besides, how can a hotel put a highly toxic liquid in a mineral water bottle and not yet have any signs? "
Source: China Education Television "Rule of Law"
In the face of these doubts, the person in charge of the hotel gave an explanation. He said they marked the mouth of the bottle and placed the bottle of rust remover in a dedicated storage room and in a hidden place under the cleaning truck. In addition, the storage room is for the exclusive use of the staff, and there is a sign on the door.
Source: China Education Television "Rule of Law"
At the same time, he also pointed out that although the storage room was not locked at that time, was there some fault for the deceased's father who took things without consent?
Regarding the Zheng family's claim for 2.6 million compensation, the hotel believes that it is unreasonable. But considering that the incident happened in their own hotel, they expressed their willingness to pay some compensation.
The person in charge of the hotel said: "After the consultation, the specific situation of their families was considered, and the person was already dead, and we also had to appease their spirits, so we were ready to give more on the basis of the consultation." "
Source: China Education Television "Rule of Law"
In the end, under the judgment of the court, the hotel was required to pay 290,000 yuan to the Zheng family. The court held that the deceased's father, as an adult with full capacity for civil conduct, entered the hotel's storage room without the permission of the hotel and took a bottle of mineral water containing rust removal water without authorization, which was the direct cause of the deceased's accidental drinking.
At the same time, the court also pointed out that the hotel's failure to properly store the rust remover, resulting in others taking and drinking it by mistake, should be deemed to have failed to fulfill its reasonable safety and security obligations.
Source: China Education Television "Rule of Law"
At the same time, this tragedy reminds us that nothing is more precious than life, and nothing is more important than safety.