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Agence France-Presse

A Chinese insurer is offering payouts for people accused of causing injuries while helping elderly people in trouble, state media said, after a string of “Good Samaritans” faced fines.
 The “Helping Elderly Insurance” launched last week can provide 20,000 yuan (HK$24,000) for legal costs in such cases, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
 It comes after a string of incidents in which well-intentioned individuals helped elderly people, only to end up subjected to accusations of causing the accident or extortion.
READ MORE: Beijing draws up laws to protect Good Samaritans from malicious legal action
 As a result many Chinese bystanders are reluctant to step in when they see people in trouble.
 In one well-known case in 2009, a man who came to the aid of an elderly woman was ordered to pay 100,000 yuan on the grounds that he would not have helped if he was not responsible.
 The insurance product launched on Alipay, a platform owned by Chinese internet giant Alibaba, with a premium of just 3 yuan annually, Xinhua said.
 It has already attracted 26,000 users, it reported, adding that “some have called the insurance a marketing ploy”.
 It cited Alipay as saying that the product aims to “promote a helpful spirit and kindness in society”.

 A commentary in state-run newspaper the Qianjiang Evening News called Alibaba a pioneer in tackling the moral crisis commercially. 
READ MORE: Chinese Good Samaritan commits suicide over hit-and-run accusations
 According to a copy of the product’s terms and conditions, the insurance company behind the scheme, Sinosafe, will carry out an investigation into alleged incidents before paying out.
 The product appeared to have launched a bout of online soul-searching, with many seeing it as a reflection of declining moral standards.
 “What has happened to society?” asked one online poster. “You have to buy insurance for doing a good deed.”
 


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Scams and swindles

Chinese Good Samaritans offered insurance policy to protect them against extortion scams by the people they help

Many people in mainland China are afraid to come to the aid of others for fear that they will be sued by the people they help. Photo: SCMP Pictures

A picture of Wu Weiqing, who killed himself in Guangdong province last year after he came to the aid of an elderly man who appeared to have been knocked over in the street. The man later demanded huge sums in "compensation". Photo: SCMP Pictures

Good Samaritans take photos of elderly man bleeding in Chinese city before helping in case he sued them 

By-standers crowd around the elderly man collapsed on the street in Zhengzhou, Henan province. Photos: SCMP Pictures 

People eventually stepped forward and helped the man, who is recovering in hospital. 