On May 26th, an elderly person in Shanghai fell after getting off a bus, and the driver kindly helped him up but was accused in return. It was reported by Weibo influencer “Huang Xipao” with 1.664 million followers that on May 26th, when a bus in Shanghai stopped, an elderly person fell while getting off. The bus driver, out of goodwill, went to assist the fallen elderly person but was wrongfully accused.
Recently, an article on Netease account “Huoshan Shihua” revealed that the incident occurred on May 26th at a bus stop of Route 14 in Shanghai. After the bus driver helped the elderly person up and was about to drive away, the elderly person stood up and blamed the driver, claiming that it was the driver’s fault for the fall and demanded accountability.
According to the article, a witness capturing the incident on video stated that he saw the whole process at the scene. He emphasized that the elderly person fell on his own after getting off the bus, and the driver noticed through the rearview mirror before going to help. Several passengers at the scene testified for the driver, proving that the driver approached to help out of kindness.
However, the elderly person persisted and even blocked the vehicle from leaving. Eventually, the police took the elderly person away. The article pointed out that since the case of Peng Yu in Nanjing, where whether to help or not help sparked heated discussions among netizens, it even subverted the traditional moral values of society.
“Jiupai News” reported on the 27th that after an investigation, the bus company involved believed that the bus driver did not have any problem. The staff at the Jiaxing Road Police Station in Hongkou District stated that the elderly person involved had already left.
Netizens commented, “Who is responsible for the changed social atmosphere?” “If those who falsely accuse are not punished, the atmosphere will never improve. Just apologize if you defame someone; others waste time and energy just to prove themselves because they did a good deed.”
The Peng Yu case refers to a highly controversial civil lawsuit that occurred on November 20, 2006, in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. That day, an elderly lady, Xu Shoulan in Nanjing, fell while trying to catch a bus, and Peng Yu helped her up and took her to the hospital. Xu’s family insisted that Peng Yu had knocked her down, subsequently suing in court and claiming over 130,000 yuan. The Gu Lou District Court in Nanjing eventually found that “based on common sense, the possibility of Peng Yu colliding with the elderly lady is higher” and ruled that Peng Yu would bear 40% of the losses, compensating the plaintiff 45,876 yuan.
After the Peng Yu case, similar incidents of scamming helpers, such as “pengci”, have become more common in mainland China. Some netizens described the outcome of the Peng Yu case as causing a moral regression of 50 years for the Chinese people.