A Chinese woman was ordered to compensate family of her married partner who died after they had sex in a hotel room. The court found her partially responsible due to her delayed response after finding him unresponsive, while hotel was not liable.
A Chinese court ordered that a woman compensate the family of her married partner, who passed away after having sex with her in a hotel room, with 62,000 Yuan (Rs 7,53,643.48). A medical document from a nearby hospital stated that the 66-year-old man, who went by Zhou, died of acute myocardial infarction, Red Star News reported. According to the South China Morning Post, on July 14, 2024, Zhou had sex with his girlfriend, Zhuang, in a hotel in Pingnan County, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, southern China, only hours before he passed away.
Zhou’s wife and kid filed a lawsuit against Zhuang and the hotel for not saving Zhou. Before rendering its final decision, the court added Rs 70,000 for burial expenses to the Rs 550,000 they had requested, for a total of Rs 620,000. In 2023, Zhou and Zhuang reconnected at a party after having previously worked together at a factory in the 1980s. Zhou contacted Zhuang to join him after checking into a hotel on July 24, 2024. Zhuang said that they had intercourse before dozing out.
When she woke up, she found Zhou was not breathing. Thinking Zhou had died, Zhuang was frightened and uncertain of what to do. A hotel worker called an ambulance after entering the room with Zhuang and finding Zhou motionless on the bed. She initially went home to take medication to lower her blood pressure because she had hypertension. When she got back to the hotel, she requested a staff member for assistance since she couldn’t open the room where she had been with Zhou. When they entered the room, Zhou was not responding to their yelling. The hotel employee dialled the police and an ambulance.
Later, Zhou’s death was verified by police and doctors. Investigators found that Zhou had a history of stroke and hypertension. The court decided that Zhou should be held primarily accountable since his pre-existing problems caused his death. Since Zhuang was ignorant of Zhou’s prior medical conditions, she was only accountable for secondary blame.
She squandered the best opportunity to rescue him, the court added, by leaving the room and coming back an hour later. The judgement further declared that she had breached good customs and public order by having an affair with Zhou while knowing he was married. The court also stated that since Zhou died in a room and not in a public place, the hotel was not at blame and was not obligated to make any payments.