Is throwing objects from high altitude a crime?

Throwing objects from high altitude is called "the pain hanging over the city".

The crime of throwing objects from high altitude is a newly added crime in the Eleventh Amendment to my country’s Criminal Law. Effective on March 1, 2021.

We have all heard or seen relevant news more or less. Objects thrown from high altitude in the community have caused injuries to pedestrians downstairs. We have also experienced it ourselves, unscrupulous residents throwing things out of the window. If the person directly responsible cannot be found, the court will eventually rule that all owners of the building where the object was thrown from high altitude shall be liable for compensation.

There was a person directly responsible, and the court finally ruled that the person who threw the object was guilty of throwing objects from high altitude. Regarding the seriousness of the circumstances, the main consideration is the subjective malignancy (whether it has been repeated multiple times, whether it has been criminally or administratively punished before), the degree of danger, the harmful consequences, etc.

So, under what circumstances will the behavior of throwing objects at high altitude endanger public safety? If the safety of the public is not endangered, what kind of punishment should be received?

The first is the motivation for throwing the object. The crime of throwing objects from high altitude is a behavioral crime, and the behavior of throwing objects is subjective and intentional. Usually on purpose. If the object is thrown multiple times, or if the person has been punished for previous throwing behavior, then this motive is also very obvious;

Second, the time and place to throw the object should be considered. If objects are thrown during times when there is a large flow of people commuting to and from get off work, or in public places, such as squares, roads, and kindergartens, the harm caused will also be greater;

Chapter Third, what needs to be considered is the hazard level of thrown objects. For example, causing minor or serious injury, death or other serious consequences to others, or causing significant damage to other people's property. Depending on the circumstances, they will be convicted and punished for the crime of intentional injury, intentional homicide, or the crime of endangering public safety by dangerous means.

Fourth, the characteristics of parabolic objects should be considered. For example, if the object to be thrown is a kitchen knife or a TV set, which will obviously cause harm to others, the degree of harm will be different from that of an object such as a banana peel or fruit peel. Punishment for the crime of throwing objects from high altitude. According to the provisions of the "Criminal Law", a person shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than one year, criminal detention, or surveillance and may also be fined.

Case:

1. On July 2, 2019, a 10-year-old boy in Guiyang, Guizhou twice pushed down two fire extinguishers from the seventh floor window. The second fire extinguisher hit the victim's head, causing her to fall to the ground unconscious and bleed from her head. She later died after resuscitation failed. In the end, the court ruled that the parents of the defendant boy must compensate the family of the deceased plaintiff for various economic losses totaling 780,000 yuan. At the same time, a property branch of the defendant also needs to bear supplementary compensation liability.

2. Since January 2021, the defendant Chen Yu (pseudonym) has repeatedly thrown beer bottles, garbage and other items from the window of his room while staying in a street in Guangming District, Shenzhen. On April 2, 2021, the Guangming District People’s Procuratorate filed a public prosecution with the Guangming District People’s Court. After trial, the court sentenced Chen Yu to six months in prison and fined him 2,000 yuan.

Therefore, throwing objects from high altitude is not only uncivilized. Once it occurs, the person responsible will not only be liable for compensation, but may also commit a crime. I hope you won’t throw things away with luck, because your behavior has constituted a crime, so you must think twice before you act to avoid harming others and yourself.