Harassed a petrol station attendant, then set fire to his motorcycle

Case summary

On 23 July 2019 a frightening scene unfolded at a petrol station in Qujing, Yunnan. Two men rode up at night on a motorcycle to refuel, and the attendant serving them was a woman. One of the men took a fancy to her and, as she was filling the tank, suddenly reached out to stroke her face. She reacted quickly and stepped back out of reach, and in doing so the nozzle came away from the filler and some petrol spilled. The man showed no restraint at all: he insulted her and then took out a lighter and, smiling, set fire to the motorcycle. In an instant the flames enveloped the whole machine and the fuel nozzle, while the two men stepped away from the fire as though nothing had happened and stood by with their hands folded, showing not the least intention of putting it out. The attendant was terrified, grabbed a fire extinguisher from the station and shouted for help, and people nearby came running with extinguishers and put the fire out.

Fortunately the fire was brought under control quickly and caused no greater blaze or casualties. Station staff called the police, who arrived promptly and arrested the man. The police established that he is named Liu, and that the reason for his absurd conduct was that he was in a bad mood and had been drinking and could not control himself. The bad mood came from having bought a new phone on instalment credit and then having it stolen before he had finished paying for it. He is now in criminal detention.

The law

Article 44 of the Law on Penalties for Administration of Public Security provides that a person who molests another, or deliberately exposes his body in a public place where the circumstances are flagrant, is detained for not less than five and not more than ten days; where the person molests a person with an intellectual disability, a person with a mental disorder or a person under 14, or where there are other serious circumstances, the person is detained for not less than ten and not more than fifteen days.

Article 114 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, which covers arson, causing a breach of dikes or dams, causing an explosion, spreading dangerous substances and endangering public safety by dangerous methods, provides that a person who sets fire, causes a breach of dikes or dams, causes an explosion, spreads poisonous, radioactive or infectious disease pathogens or other substances, or endangers public safety by other dangerous methods, where no serious consequences have yet resulted, is sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three and not more than ten years.

Liu's groping of the attendant was plainly molestation of another person, contrary to the Law on Penalties for Administration of Public Security, and calls for a public security penalty.

Setting fire to the motorcycle at the petrol station moreover amounts to suspected arson. Arson is an offence of conduct: Liu had been drinking, but by carrying out the act of setting fire he endangered public safety, and that is enough to constitute arson, serious consequences not being a precondition. If serious consequences do result, causing serious injury or death or heavy loss of public or private property, the penalty is fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years, imprisonment for life or death. Liu will therefore be prosecuted for arson and face severe punishment under the law.

Observe the rules of the petrol station strictly

No naked flame, no telephone calls and no smoking at a petrol station are elementary matters of common sense. Whether or not Liu acted as he did because he was drunk, his conduct endangered public safety and deserves severe punishment. The law does not make an exception for a person who cannot control himself because he is drunk. Punishing people who behave in this reckless and wilful way is both what the public demands and what society requires.

Petrol stations and gas stations are places where dangerous goods collect, and any improper conduct may set off a disaster, so the rules of the station must be strictly observed. Besides the familiar points, such as switching off the engine while refuelling and not telephoning or smoking on the premises, the following should also be noted.

1. Do not fill the tank to the brim. The nozzle should be pushed as far into the filler as possible, which reduces the petrol vapour given off during refuelling and the risk of fire. Many accidents at petrol stations are caused by escaping fuel vapour meeting a hot vehicle body, so this detail matters.

2. Do not repair a vehicle at a petrol station.

In the course of repairs, hot engine components or an electrical fault in a pressurised system may start a fire, particularly where there is a short circuit, and components striking or rubbing against one another can also generate static and sparks.

3. Do not put on or take off knitted clothing at a petrol station.

Putting on or taking off synthetic, nylon or knitted garments, or combing one's hair, readily generates static through friction, and that static can instantly ignite the flammable and explosive vapour present around the station. This too is a very dangerous thing to do.

Safety is never a small matter: it begins with the individual and with what is close at hand, and it benefits both oneself and others.