The end of the Good Samaritan

China's new "value" system ... Self-interest reigns ... The government says aiding people in distress could cause problems ... Stand back, don't interfere ... Percy Lo-Kit Chan reports from Hong Kong 

A number of recent cases have revealed a worrying trend on the Mainland where kindness to others, and devotion to the elderly, are both strong Confucian values.

On two occasions, the Good Samaritan has been accused by the "victim" of causing the problem in the first place.

This phenomenon is said to be caused by the new prevailing "value" system, which says that you would never spontaneously, or voluntarily, help another person without some ulterior motive.

Sociologists, I think, would say that "social trust" has broken down. The problem has been exacerbated by a new guidebook issued by the Ministry of Health (running to 41-pages).

It mischievously suggests that aiding old people by offering overly hasty assistance may, in fact, hasten their demise. 

Last week, in Hubei, an 88-year-old man collapsed on the pavement. He was surrounded by a crowd on onlookers, none of whom called for emergency services. He remained untreated for about 90 minutes until his son and his wife reached him.

Unfortunately, he died from suffocation caused by a nose-bleed that blocked his airways.

The onlookers seemed to have been afraid that if they intervened they would in some way have been blamed for his collapse, and liable to compensate him.

Don't helpAnd perhaps they were right.

In Zhaoqing, Guangdong, a young man on a motor bike went to the aid of an old lady who had fallen from her bicycle.

After he had offered his aid, the woman accused him of causing her to fall.

Her son-in-law arrived and, declining all explanation, allegedly said:

"Why did you try to help while others did not? How come you helped here if you did not cause her fall? The good-hearted people are long dead!"

For three days the Good Samaritan, on leave from work, sought onlookers, or witnesses who could testify to what had occurred.

It was only after the police told the old lady that they were going through traffic film to trace her route, that she recanted her tale, and admitted that he had had nothing to do with her spill.

Most civil law countries adopt a doctrine that it is a criminal offence not to go to the assistance of someone in danger.

I well remember on a recent trip to your Sydney confronting two attractive women in Oxford Street who were endeavouring to assist a man well in his cups, and passed out on the footpath.

Civil Liability Act may protect youI got out my phone to call the constabulary, but they said they had already done so.

They said they were from France, where you are criminally liable for leaving someone in a distressed position if you can do something about it without danger to yourself.

Sections 56 and 57 of your estimable Civil Liability Act 2002, NSW, confers a protection on the Good Samaritan, provided that the Samaritan has not caused the injury in the first place.

It would seem high time that something similar was introduced on the Mainland.