Lessons can be learned from the case of the Chinese girl

Many people have expressed their concerns about the situation of the Chinese girl whose right hand was handicapped. Some people asked why the compensation came so late (more than two years after the accident). Herein, I provide a bit more details about this case.



The Chinese girl worked in a factory legally in one summer. Due to lack of proper protection, her right hand was brought into the machine and her fingers were crashed. Two days after the accident which happened on 15.10.2002, the manager of that company visited the Chinese girl with an already written contract and asked the girl to sign it. The main point of that contract is that the company pays 500 € to her because she was hurt and had pain in her hand. After that payment the girl has no other demands whatsoever against the company. At that time, the girl had not recovered from the shock of that accident. She was still suffering from the tremendous pain of her wounded hand and was not fully conscious. She hesitated for sometime and did not know what she should do. Unfortunately, the Chinese around her advised her to obey her boss and so she finally undersigned the contract.



I was totally outraged by this inhuman contract. Immediately, I tried to advise the girl to find herself a lawyer and sue the company to the court. However, she accepted my suggestion one year and nine months later. I arranged her to meet a lawyer from Helsinki. His lawyer was almost amused when he was reading the contract undersigned by both the girl and the manager of the company. He claimed that a contract like this can not be binding to anything. The lawyer said that the most important thing to do was to make a crime report to the police, because the result of a crime investigation by the police is definitely needed in the court. And, the police would only conduct an investigation within two years after the crime has been committed. The lawyer worried that he did not have enough time to make a crime report. Fortunately, the police acted fast and investigated this case thoroughly. Then there was a trial in the court and a verdict was made in favor to the Chinese girl, as
expected. Both the manager and the work monitor were found guilty and were sentenced to prison for a short term. The court also decided that the company must pay an indemnity of 5500€ to the Chinese girl because of the pain she has suffered from her wounded hand. In addition, the girl reserves the right to receive compensation for her permanently handicapped hand later.



Now her right hand (unfortunately she is a right handed person) is permanently handicapped. Four fingers of her right hand are severely wounded and handicapped. The last joint of one finger is totally destroyed and one finger is 0.5 cm shorter than normal. She can no longer feel anything with those fingers. She can not hold anything tightly. She can never be able to play piano nor can she write normally. She even can not cut vegetables with a knife-a big problem for a Chinese house wife. Nothing to say that her handicapped hand looks ugly. Now she must face the reality that she has to carry her handicap through rest of her life. It will decrease her chance of finding a proper job and will even affect her marriage. For such a huge damage, the Finnish insurance company said that they would only pay an indemnity of 3800€ and that is it. It is insane!



Several lessons can be learned from this case. First of all, this Chinese girl did not get wise advice from her closest vicinity at the beginning. The sad thing is that she had no idea from where she could get any assistance. When a stranger wanted to help, there was also a problem of trust. Wouldn’t it be better if there was a Chinese organization (like many other minority communities who do have strong representatives of their own) which could offer assistance to those unfortunate Chinese in the first place? Remember, today it is this poor Chinese girl who got unlucky. Tomorrow, it could be you or me! Another lesson is that every Chinese should ask why some morally corrupted Finns would dare to bully Chinese without any hesitation? Have we be unified together to demonstrate our strength and will? What kind of image we Chinese should present to the society where we are dwelling in?



Now and then, some Chinese with difficulties asked me for help. For sure I would like to do they favors. Unfortunately, I often found myself incompetent and lack of knowledge when I was trying to help my needed compatriots. I sincerely wish that the proposed Chinese Foundation in Finland will finally be established and will provide better service to our community.

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By the way, I got permission from that Chinese girl to call for help on behalf of her.