China's “Pengci” Problem: Woman Throws Herself Under Car in Dangerous Scam

China's “Pengci” Problem: Woman Throws Herself Under Car in Dangerous Scam
Jul 30, 2015 By eChinacities.com

Recently, an old man in Pengzhou, Sichuan tried to blame a group of students for his accident after he fell to the ground. Luckily, police surveillance footage was able to prove the students' innocence. Unfortunately, this kind of thing happens far too often in China these days, and a rather extreme case occurred last week in Xiaogan, Hubei.

Woman Found Under Car

Chen heard a strange sound coming from under his car when he stopped at a red light in Xiaogan on July 22. He got out of the car and found an elderly woman lying under the car, half of her body completely under the vehicle. It looked like he had run her over. However, video footage uncovered later told a different story.

“It happened suddenly. I was shocked,” said Chen, on finding the woman's body under his car. He immediately dialed 120.

However, another driver passing by told Chen that he had seen the woman dive under the car when Chen was stopped at the red light. Several other drivers confirmed this.

There were no surveillance cameras in the area. Police recorded eyewitness testimony and took Chen's car as evidence. The old woman was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.

Video of Incident Found

In order to prove his innocence, Chen took to the Internet. He posted his story on a popular forum and said asked for more witnesses to come forward. Soon, Netizens provided the key to his innocence: the car behind him had captured video of the incident.

The video is 107 seconds long. In the first 24 seconds, Chen's black SUV is visible at the stoplight. It is clear that when the car first stopped, there was no one under the car. After two seconds, a figure crouches down and squeezes herself under the car.

Chen turned the video in to the police on July 25. Police confirmed that he did not hit the woman with his vehicle and returned his car to him. The woman was discharged from the hospital after she showed no sign of serious injury.

China's Pengci Problem

Why did the old woman throw herself under the car? Was it yet another incident of what is known in China as pengci? Pengci (碰瓷) is the popular phenomenon of deliberately crashing one's car and demanding compensation.

If this is a case of pengci, than it is quite an extreme one. The elderly woman was taking quite a risk that the driver of the car would notice her when she flung herself so close to the wheels.

Netizens defending the old woman have speculated that she was merely “picking up something that she had dropped,” on the road and had fallen under the car.

The popularity of pengci has led to a number of horrible incidents in which injured Chinese are ignored by lawsuit wary passerby. Earlier this year, an elderly man was hit by a car in Zhejiang and passed over by 20 people. He eventually died on at scene.

It is unfortunate that in order to get help from strangers after a fall in China, a victim has to make it clear that they are not ill-intentioned. In May, an old man fell in the station platform of the Shenyang metro and felt the need to tell those around him, “I have insurance, I'm not going to extort you.”

The case in Xiaogan is still under investigation by the police, and the woman's true motives for throwing herself under a stopped car are still unknown.

Source: The Paper

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Keywords: China hit by car scam China compensation scam

12 Comments

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Jessierussell

What a stupid thing to do........

Aug 12, 2015 08:53 Report Abuse

Guest2368048

What a bargain!

Aug 06, 2015 22:16 Report Abuse

tokagesa

Regarding the "true motives" that woman are, far from me the idea of reaching hasty conclusion but I wouldn't be surprised if it's linked to her extorting the driver.

Aug 03, 2015 19:42 Report Abuse

nzteacher80

Thank you Sherlock Holmes

Aug 05, 2015 23:38 Report Abuse

RandomGuy

Any of them does this to me and I will drive again on their lying body, 2, 3, or more times, enough to make sure that they REALLY deserve a compensation. Then I will rejoice from knowing that they have become irremediably disabled or that they are in a lifelong coma.

Aug 01, 2015 17:56 Report Abuse

Robk

Here you have it folks... the great generation of the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward. If this was the generation that founded modern China, it explains a lot doesn't it?

Aug 01, 2015 12:14 Report Abuse

silverbutton1

Crouching Grandma, Leaping ___________. (Fill in the blank to win your prize!)

Jul 31, 2015 14:07 Report Abuse

nzteacher80

Don't hold your breath.

Jul 30, 2015 22:52 Report Abuse

Englteachted

Cheating is not punished in China. They are punished for getting caught and embarrassing China. Same with rudeness. Here's what I mean. According to Chinese cultural norms as set by the CCP, others were supposed to do nothing and not involve themselves. If the police were called they would have known it was a scam but would have made the driver pay compensation.

Aug 07, 2015 00:45 Report Abuse

ScotsAlan

How can anyone be so stupid as to expect a driver here to notice someone under their car before they drive off? Stupid beyond stupid.

Jul 30, 2015 19:13 Report Abuse

nzteacher80

Looks just like how the Wicked Witch of the West died, just needs the ruby slippers.

Jul 30, 2015 18:45 Report Abuse