[3] No pie falls from the sky, but what if it's a kitchen knife?

Compiled from The Paper
 
Case review
On the morning of August 16, a resident of Chengdu's Wenjiang Jiarui International Community reported that four kitchen knives and a wooden knife holder suddenly fell from a height near Building 5, landing on the ground without causing any injuries. "The knives fell from upstairs, near the community's activity room. At the time, residents were resting nearby, and workers were renovating the exterior wall," the resident said. A staff member from the community's property management center confirmed the incident, stating, "The relevant property manager is handling the matter at the police station."

 
 

Decorator Master Li was sitting by the flower bed when he was startled by the sound of the knives falling and quickly jumped up and ran away. He said he then looked up at the building but saw no one, though the scene left him shaken, and he immediately notified the property management. Other residents in the community also heard about the incident, rushed to the scene, and called the police.
 
A cleaner in the community said she learned about the "knives falling from the sky" incident through the resident group chat. Similar to Master Li's account, the cleaner noted that the building has 27 floors, and the knives nearly hit Master Li.

 
 

 
"Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China"
[3] Article 291 bis
[4] Whoever throws objects from a building or other height, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than one year, criminal detention, or public surveillance, and/or a fine.
[5] If the act in the preceding paragraph also constitutes another crime, it shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions for the heavier penalty.

 
 

 
[1] The author's perspective
It is easy to see that the crime of高空抛物 (throwing objects from a height) can overlap with many other offenses, such as the crime of endangering public safety by dangerous means. So how do we distinguish between them?
 
If someone knowingly or should have known that people were below and intentionally threw an object, it constitutes the crime of endangering public safety by dangerous means, or even intentional injury. If the act is directed at a specific person, it constitutes intentional injury or intentional homicide. However, if the object falls due to carelessness, negligence, or accident, it falls under the crime of throwing objects from a height.
 
In recent years, news reports about throwing objects from heights have been countless, yet some people still fail to learn from them, harboring a sense of luck. It wasn't until the Criminal Law added the crime of throwing objects from a height that it gained widespread attention, but this incident is still deeply disheartening. Data has shown that even a ping-pong ball or a soybean thrown from a height can cause severe injury, and this time it was several kitchen knives. Although no one was hurt, those who narrowly missed it were still terrified. Every lesson learned should not come at the cost of blood; prevention is better than cure. We also urge everyone not to act out of momentary fun or侥幸心理 (a sense of luck).