Tumbling granny fined for extorting young helpers

CHENGDU - The family of an elderly lady has been fined for extorting three primary school students who came to her aid after seeing her fall in a southwestern Chinese city, local police said Saturday.

According to an online forum post that drew public attention earlier this week, an old woman fell down in Dazhou city in Sichuan province, but later blamed three children who helped her for causing the accident and demanded compensation.

Police in Dazhou said they received a report on Thursday from the family of one of the children, who said they were forced to pay 1,000 yuan ($166.7) for the woman's medical fees after the incident on June 15.

After investigating the case, police concluded that the 74-year-old woman, surnamed Jiang, had fallen on her own, and her act constituted extortion.

Jiang was given a seven-day disciplinary detention but was exempted from the punishment due to her age. Her son, surnamed Gong, received 10 days in detention and a fine of 500 yuan, police said.

China has reported a spate of cases in recent years about "good Samaritans" being framed by elderly people they helped. Experts say the country needs to enhance legal protection for do-gooders in order to prevent such incidents from discouraging public acts of kindness.