Recently, the surveillance video of a public servant in Qidong County, Hengyang City, Hunan Province, damaging a parking space lock in an underground garage in Dacheng Community has sparked heated discussions, trending on social media. According to official reports, the man involved is a staff member of the Hengyang Municipal Development and Reform Commission’s municipal social credit information center.
The surveillance footage shows the man, named Zhu, driving into the underground garage of the community. Faced with no available public parking spaces, he attempted to park in a private parking space secured with a lock. Zhu got out of the car and repeatedly kicked the lock, then proceeded to physically destroy the facility by hand, and later attempted to further damage it by fetching an iron rod, but he was promptly stopped by on-site personnel.
Zhu, who works at the municipal social credit information center of the Hengyang Municipal Development and Reform Commission, is also the deputy director of the Dacheng Commercial Community Owners’ Committee in Qidong County, as per the report.
On the afternoon of July 31, Zhu discovered a private individual installing a lock on a parking space in the underground parking lot of the community. It was revealed that the parking space had been a subject of dispute between the owners’ committee and developer Xiao. Zhu resorted to methods like kicking to remove the lock, which was then discovered and stopped by the person who installed it, Ouyang.
On the morning of August 1, Xiao, the original developer, claimed ownership of the parking space, leased it to Ouyang, and reported the incident to the police after unsuccessful negotiations between the parties.
According to reports from China National Radio, Xiao owns the parking space and has leased it to a tenant for a long time, with the lock installed and in use for seven to eight months. Zhu proposed compensation and reinstalling the lock, but the property owner refused mediation and demanded action for willful property damage. After mediation, Zhu reached a settlement with Ouyang.
The incident where public servant Zhu violently damaged the parking space lock has sparked criticism.
A member on Weibo, “Ma Shang Tan,” commented that his behavior was arrogant and overbearing… How can someone with such a bad temper even park a car, let alone exercise authority at work?
Regarding this violent act of damaging the lock, Lawyer Zhang Lirong from the Hunan Jinhou Law Firm stated that Zhu faces several legal responsibilities for his actions. Firstly, on a civil and administrative liability level, Zhu’s actions of kicking and physically destroying the lock constitute intentional damage to someone else’s property, which could lead to detention and fines. Even with a settlement between the parties, it does not necessarily exempt him from administrative penalties. Also, he is liable to restore the original condition or compensate for losses.
Secondly, there is a possibility of escalation in criminal liability in this case. If the damaged lock is appraised to be worth more than five thousand yuan, Zhu may be suspected of the crime of intentional destruction of property and may face criminal charges.