A SUBLESSOR was recently sentenced to two years in prison with a suspension of three years for causing the death of a tenant who died of electric shock while taking a shower, sznews.com reported.

The ruling was handed down by a court in Longhua District, which was also involved in the mediation process during which the defendant, surnamed Wu, agreed to pay 1.53 million yuan (US$227,970) in damages to the family of the victim surnamed Liao.

Wu leased a building in an urban village in Longhua in July 2017 and sublet its apartments. During the subletting period, he was required by the community workstation to test and rectify the building’s electrical wiring. To save money, Wu did not entrust a qualified company to carry out the work as required. Instead, he hired a man surnamed Chen who possessed a forged electrician’s license to conduct a simple rectification work.

The sznews.com report did not say whether the landlord had permitted Wu to sublet the building.

The community workstation later found that the building’s wiring still did not meet safety standards, while other tenants of the building also frequently complained about other problems such as power failures and electricity leakage. Despite the fact that Wu knew about the problems, he didn’t carry out any effective rectification and continued to sublet the building.

On Nov. 24, 2021, Liao, who lived in an apartment on the seventh floor, was electrocuted and died while taking a shower. Investigations showed that the fatal accident occurred because of a charged ground line due to the building’s main switch failing to cut off power after the meter of a sixth-floor room broke due to overloading.

On Dec. 1, 2021, Wu turned himself in to the police. He later reached a mediation agreement with the victim’s family.

In recent years, deaths from electrocution have occurred in urban villages in different cities across the country. Some of the cases have been resolved through civil proceedings, with the landlords or rental apartment managers paying victims’ compensation.

While announcing the sentence, the judge who presided over the Longhua case reminded people that not all accidents can be settled by paying damages. Apart from civil liabilities, landlords and housing managers might also face criminal penalties if they have failed to fulfill their obligations on electricity use.

Those who rent out their property with knowledge of its public safety hazards that may cause severe injuries, death or major damage to public or private property, will be held criminally liable, the judge said.

(SD News)