Chinese man missed court hearing after delivery driver forged his signature
Courier company fined equivalent of US$47,000 because driver decided to issue fake receipt when he found recipient wasn’t at home
A courier firm in eastern China has been fined 300,000 yuan (US$47,000) for forging a signature which made a man miss a court hearing, according to reports.
When the courier discovered the recipient was not at home, he instead signed the delivery receipt and left the package at a convenience store nearby in Sihong county, in the eastern province of Jiangsu.
However, he failed to inform the intended recipient where he had left the package, which contained a subpoena, China News Network reported.
The courier’s caused the recipient to miss the court hearing, the details of which have not been disclosed, and the case was dismissed.
The man took the delivery company to court over the incident, which happened in February, and won a ruling in his favour at the end of last month.
The unnamed delivery firm was ordered to pay the fine by the local courts in Sihong.
It was not clear if the driver would face any action.
The court ruled that counterfeiting a signature, and spelling two of the three characters in the man’s name incorrectly, was a “fraudulent act”, adding that it was “a waste of legal resources”.
English-language website What’s on Weibo quoted several users of the social network complaining about the unreliable nature of courier services in China.
“Who sends legal documents by courier anyway?” one person wrote. “There’s always a risk in using kuaidi [the local name for a courier].”
“The whole courier industry needs to be put in order,” said another. “It’s all a big mess.”
Other users said it was common for couriers in China to sign for parcels themselves.
“Kuaidi should not be able to sign for someone yet it happens all the time. The company deserves to be punished for it,” a person wrote.
