Man charged for throwing items from 14th floor

A man who threw household items, including a knife and a screwdriver, from the 14th floor of a local residential building has been charged with endangering public safety, the Minhang District People's Procuratorate announced on Thursday.

According to the procuratorate, the man, surnamed Jiang, threw potentially dangerous items from a smashed window in his parents' apartment in Minhang on August 1.

Jiang allegedly became enraged at his parents due to a family dispute, during which he destroyed various household appliances in the apartment and also broke a window. It is from this window that Jiang is accused of chucking various objects, including the contents of three boxes.

During this outburst, Jiang's father was said to have called the police. When officers arrived at the scene, they found a variety of objects on the sidewalk and lawn below the house of Jiang's parents. These included a wooden drawer, a water kettle, a tablet computer and a knife.

Cars parked in the vicinity were allegedly damaged by these falling items, with repairs totaling over 4,000 yuan (US$569).

According to prosecutors, Jiang realized during the incident that his actions might cause harm to people or property.

Prosecutors said the items thrown by Jiang could have caused serious damage, including injury or even death. Furthermore, the incident occurred at about 5pm, a time when people were likely to be in the area.

China's Supreme People's Court recently issued a guideline on handling cases related to objects falling or being thrown out from tall buildings. Those intentionally throw dangerous items which cause serious harm can be sentenced for crimes as serious as murder.