Core tip: Take advantage of people not paying attention, throw the garbage from the balcony by hand, if you happen to hit people, it is really harmful.
On November 2, the RanghuLu District People's Court heard such a case, when a decorator renovated a house, he tried to save trouble, and repeatedly poured the floor tiles and toilet fragments that were cut off during the renovation down from the balcony window.
I thought it would be all right when I was finished, but I didn't want to, the garbage he dumped just hit the person, and the man was also sentenced to 8 months in prison for committing the crime of throwing objects from a high altitude.
Sentenced for throwing objects from high altitudes
In September this year, the decoration master Zhou Xiaofeng (pseudonym), to a resident of the Garden community decoration, because it is the 6th floor, some high, Zhou Xiaofeng held a fluke mentality, the cleaned out of the floor tiles, toilet fragments, fell from the upper floor again and again.
At about 8 o'clock on September 10, Zhou Xiaofeng once again dumped the garbage with his bare hands, this time, he was not so lucky, he turned to the moment he walked towards the house, he suddenly heard a scream from downstairs, he looked downstairs, scared out of a cold sweat: "It's over, hit people!"
The decoration garbage that had just fallen hit a man.
Zhou Xiaofeng quickly ran downstairs. I saw the man cover his head, his face covered with blood, and there was blood on the ground. After the injured person called the police, Zhou Xiaofeng was arrested by the public security organs. The injured person was then taken to the hospital and diagnosed with scalp lacerations; Upon appraisal by the public security organs, the injuries suffered by the injured person are assessed as minor injuries of the second degree.
The public prosecution organ held that Zhou Xiaofeng's act of throwing objects was serious and should be investigated for criminal responsibility for the crime of throwing objects from a high altitude.
After trial, the RanghuLu District People's Court held that the defendant Zhou Xiaofeng's behavior had constituted the crime of high-altitude projectiles and should be punished according to law, and in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations of our country, the Hulu District People's Court pronounced a verdict in court: Zhou Xiaofeng committed the crime of high-altitude projectiles and was sentenced to 8 months in prison and fined 10,000 yuan.
Judge's interpretation: the significance of high-altitude projectiles
In response to this case, Judge Yang Chen of the Criminal Trial Division of the Ranghu Road District People's Court said that with the development of the city, the number of high-rise buildings is increasing, and the phenomenon of high-altitude projectiles and falling objects occurs from time to time.
Throwing objects from high places, with the blessing of gravity acceleration, even small objects will produce an impact force that is enough to cause financial damage and injury.
How to maintain the "safety above the heads" of the people has become an urgent problem to be solved, and in response to this case, Judge Yang introduced the relevant legal provisions on the crime of high-altitude projectiles.
◆ Reporter: Before the promulgation of the crime of high-altitude projectiles, was the high-altitude projectile behavior not a crime?
Judge: For a long time, the legal regulation of high-altitude projectiles has been limited to the scope of civility, and there is a lack of corresponding criminal laws and regulations, so it is difficult to effectively deter and curb high-altitude projectiles.
Through the search for relevant jurisprudence, most of the criminal penalties are carried out when the act of throwing objects at a height causes casualties or major property damage, and the crimes identified are often dangerous methods to endanger public safety.
The Criminal Law Amendment (XI) separately criminalizes high-altitude projectiles and separates them from the crime of endangering public safety by dangerous means, and changes have taken place in terms of the constituent elements of the crime and the content of the punishment.
◆ Reporter: In the future, as long as the high-altitude projectile is thrown, will it be characterized as a high-altitude projectile crime?
Judge: In judicial practice after the implementation of the Criminal Law Amendment (11), for high-altitude projectile acts, it is necessary to clarify the inherent relationship between civil and criminal matter, so as to distinguish whether the act is a civil tort or a criminal offense, which is also the premise for determining the legal responsibility of the perpetrator. For the question of how to characterize the behavior of throwing objects from a high altitude, there is not only the distinction of civil criminal responsibility, but also the division of crime.
Specific to individual cases, a comprehensive judgment should be made on the behavior of high-altitude projectiles. Comprehensively consider the perpetrator's motives for the act, the nature of the thrown object, the reality of the place where the thrown object is thrown, and the consequences caused by the act, combined with the degree of social harm, accurately determine the nature of the act, so as to correctly apply the crime and judge the punishment.
◆ Reporter: In this case, the high-altitude projectile caused minor injuries, why was the crime of intentional injury not sentenced? But is it the crime of throwing objects from a high altitude?
Judge: In light of this case, in the case of a high-altitude projectile causing minor injury, punishment may be imposed within the range of fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or public surveillance in accordance with the law, and whether it is necessary to be converted into the crime of intentional injury should be determined according to the specific sentencing situation.
If "a sentence of imprisonment of not more than one year, criminal detention or public surveillance, and a fine or a single fine" is not sufficient to punish the crime, it may be convicted and punished as intentional injury; On the contrary, it is advisable to treat it as the crime of high-altitude projectile, because compared with the crime of intentional injury, the crime of high-altitude projectile is a special provision for the type of behavior, and the crime of high-altitude projectile can more accurately evaluate the characteristics of the behavior and the legal interests of the infringement, and should be applied preferentially in the case of ensuring that the crime and punishment are comparable.
◆ Reporter: What is the difference between a high-altitude projectile and a high-altitude falling object?
Judge: The subjective manifestation aspect of the crime of throwing objects from a height is intentional, including direct intent and indirect intent; Negligence does not constitute this crime. Therefore, in the trial of such cases, attention should be paid to distinguishing between throwing objects and falling objects.
High-altitude throwing refers to the act of deliberately throwing objects from a height, which is subjectively malignant, and the crimes involved include the crime of endangering public safety by dangerous means, the crime of intentional injury, and the crime of intentional homicide.
Falling objects from a height are acts of negligence causing objects to fall from a height, the subjective mentality is negligence, and the crimes involved include the crime of causing death by negligence, the crime of causing serious injury by negligence, and the crime of major liability accident.
In practice, the phenomenon of falling outdoor objects in buildings, especially high-rise buildings, occurs from time to time, such as the fall of billboard plaques and the fall of air-conditioning plug-in chassis.
◆ Reporter: What is the value function of high-altitude projectile crime?
Judge: First, it is more conducive to the preventive function of criminal law.
Before the separate crime, although the high-altitude projectile behavior that was "sufficient to endanger public safety" was included in the scope of the criminal law, the applicable crime was the crime of endangering public safety by dangerous means. For the public, the sensitivity is not high, it is difficult to accurately establish a link between the high-altitude projectile behavior and the crime of endangering public safety by dangerous methods, and the crime of high-altitude projectile is classified as a separate crime, which is more popular, direct and easy to understand.
As soon as it was promulgated, reports on the "high-altitude projectile punishment" appeared one after another, which aroused widespread concern in society and had a great impact on society. It has greatly deterred the behavior of high-altitude projectiles and given full play to the preventive function of the criminal law.
Second, the separate criminalization of high-altitude projectiles, so that some acts that are not enough to endanger public safety and have no actual harmful results are included in the scope of criminal law trials, and also form a "gradient" evaluation with the crimes of intentional destruction of property, intentional injury, intentional homicide, endangering public safety by dangerous methods, etc., so that the crimes and punishments are balanced, which will help judicial organs to better abide by the basic principles of criminal law and the corresponding punishment of criminal responsibility when handling high-altitude projectile cases.
◆ Reporter: What should I do if I suddenly encounter a "flying disaster"?
Judge: First of all, take a photo of the scene as soon as possible, leaving the contact information of the witnesses. If personal injury has been caused, you should seek medical treatment in time, and keep the medical records and medical bills. If the vehicle and other items are damaged, keep the maintenance ticket.
Second, find the property company to retrieve the relevant surveillance video, ask the property company to coordinate the solution and educate and dissuade the implementers. Where it is difficult to determine the person responsible for infringement, apply to the public security organ for investigation.
Third, WeChat records, telephone recordings, etc. of communicating with the infringer should be preserved. If the negotiation fails, a civil lawsuit may be filed with the court.
Reporter Zhang Lin The picture was provided by the court