A FORMER employee of a Shenzhen elevator maintenance company was sentenced to 11 months in jail for negligence resulting in the death of a hospital intern last year.

    In its verdict, Luohu District People’s Court ruled that the man, surnamed Wu, a service technician for more than 10 years, was negligent in his duty while responsible for the maintenance of an elevator in the Changhong Building in Luohu District. Specifically, he was charged with not doing his job properly after discovering oil leaking from the elevator during two routine checks May 5 and May 12 of last year.

    Wu said he considered the problem to be minor; of such negligible concern he did not even make a note of it in his maintenance records.

    Wu did not change the worn oil seals and used a liquid lubricant instead of lubricant grease. Using the liquid lubricant can greatly reduce the effectiveness of braking mechanisms and create operational risks.

    The negligence led to a fatal accident May 15, when the elevator malfunctioned between floors, 24-year-old Shanxi Province native Wang Fang became lodged in the door, the carriage moved sharply up and down and Wang was killed.

    Wang, an intern at Shenzhen Pengcheng Hospital, was using her mobile phone as she attempted to exit the elevator after it stopped between the second and third floors.

    The elevator was managed by Changhong Property Management Co. and maintained by Weida Elevator Service Co. Changhong and Weida reached agreement with Wang’s family to provide compensation.

    (Richard Han)