A news story resembling a nightmare has emerged from Xi’an. When elevator maintenance men returned to work in Gaoling district last week after a one month break for Chinese New Year, they discovered the body of a woman lying inside the cabin of an elevator they had deactivated before the holiday began.
The workers arrived to repair a faulty elevator on January 30, which they found stuck between the tenth and eleventh floors. According to regulations, they were supposed to open the cabin doors before shutting off power to the elevator and check the cabin once more before declaring the job done. But the workmen ignored the regulations and simply shouted up to check if anyone was inside before leaving.
This proved fatal for a woman inside the elevator, aged 43 and identified only by the surname ‘Wu’. An inspection of the body found her hands to be badly mangled, presumably from attempts to claw the elevator doors apart. At least one of the workmen responsible has been arrested on a negligent homicide charge.
Residents of the housing complex told reporters that the building management and maintenance service were generally incompetent and ignorant of residents’ complaints. Protests have now been held against the management, and the story has made international headlines.
Local news outlets reported that ‘Wu’ lived alone, was known to exhibit strange behavior and was considered by some to be mentally ill. They claimed her family had not gone looking for her because they simply assumed she had ‘gotten lost’. That same family are reportedly now fighting to claim Wu’s compensation money.
[Image via Local 21]
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