A freeway operator in northeast China has been ordered to pay 1.2 million yuan (about US$ 150,000) in compensation to six people injured in a traffic accident caused by the untimely appearance of a pig.

The ruling was handed down by Longfeng District Court of Daqing, an oil producing city in Heilongjiang Province.

The money coughed up by Dongbei (northeast China) Freeways Co. Ltd. will be used to cover medical bills for the six people riding injured in the accident, according to court sources.

On the night of January 27, 2005, five business people from outside Heilongjiang and a driver were heading along the Harbin-Daqing Freeway in a Buick utility vehicle on their way from Harbin, the provincial capital, to Daqing.

At about 7:50 PM, as the vehicle approached Zhaodong City, the driver, a local, saw a pig loom up in front of him. To avoid a collision, he ploughed into a road barrier.

All six people in the vehicle were injured, and one seriously injured passenger had to undergo amputation surgery.

The driver was initially deemed responsible for the accident by local traffic police. The six injured then brought a suit in the local court demanding compensation from the operator of the Harbin-Daqing freeway.

The local court finally concluded that management errors by the Dongbei (northeast China) Freeways Co. Ltd. were a factor in the accident.

It ruled that the company, which collects toll fees, is responsible for ensuring that the freeway is safe and free of obstacles. As such, it should bear 80 percent of the total losses suffered by the plaintiffs in the accident. The remaining 20 percent will be borne by the local insurance company.

(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2006)