The migrant worker was on his way home that drizzly evening, when one of his neighbors decided to get rid of an old flower pot by throwing it off of a balcony on the 22-story building Li lives in on Guangfu Road W. in Shanghai's Putuo District.

The pot crashed through the umbrella Li was carrying and smashed on his head, leaving a nasty gash.

"If my wife hadn't reminded me to take an umbrella, I may have died from the accident," Li said.

Police arrived at the scene five minutes after Li was struck, but it was already impossible to pinpoint from which balcony the flower pot was thrown out.

The only thing Li could do is sue.

"If the police can't decide who threw the flower pot, all the residents in the building except those living on the first floor should take responsibility unless they can prove they weren't involved, according to the latest regulations issued by the Supreme Court," said his lawyer Liu Chunquan.

Li is only one of many people injured by garbage and other objects carelessly discarded out of windows or off of balconies in the city.

Last August, an old man living in Pudong was killed by a concrete block that was thrown out of a 22nd-floor apartment by an eight-year-old boy. The old man was watching others play chess at a street small garden at that time.

Cleaners in the area where Li was hit pointed out that some residents habitually throw garbage out of the window, instead of putting it into a garbage can.

"When we clean the road near the building, we have to wear safety helmets to avoid being hurt by falling debris," said a cleaner. "In the past few weeks, I have almost been hit by two pots, two pieces of glass and a vinegar bottle."

Many people who live in high-rises have reported similar experiences.

"I can't understand why some people are so lazy that they won't throw the garbage into the garbage can. Their behavior has violated others' rights," said Yuan Zhongmin, a high-rise resident.

Sun Baohong, a professor at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said although Shanghai has become an international metropolis in terms of economic development, the behavior of some citizens is still uncivilized.

(eastday.com March 28, 2003)