Henan bridge collapse victims to get disparate compensation

Families with urban residency registrations will receive 400,000 yuan (HK$490,000), and those with rural permits would get 180,000 yuan, according to provincial "standards".

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A victim of the bridge collapse accident receives treatment at a hospital in Yima, Henan Province. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 11:10am, 4 Feb 2013Updated: 9:03am, 5 Feb 2013

Family members of victims who died during a fatal bridge collapse in Henan last week will be compensated according to provincial “standards", which means some will receive more than others, the Henan Business Daily reported on Monday.

Quoting an official familiar with the case, the report said those with urban hukou would receive 400,000 yuan (HK$490,000) in compensation, and those with rural hukou would get 180,000 yuan.

Hukou, or household registration permit, identifies a person as belonging to a certain area of the country. Rural hukou holders are often less eligible for public services such as education or health care in cities.

“They told us the sooner we signed a compensation agreement, the more we would get,” a woman surnamed Sun told the China Youth Daily in a seperate report.

Sun lost her father in the disaster and had arrived in Yima city from Shandong to claim his body on Saturday.

“[On Sunday] they brought up the topic of compensation, but the amount was so small. They urged us to accept and said if we signed it before 12pm we would get 50,000 yuan…we did not accept,” she added.