Traffic accident victim receives kilos of coins as compensation

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Coins are tossed into cash boxes on buses across China, but no one expected a bus company to use kilograms of them as compensation.

A woman named Ms. Mou, from northeastern China’s Dalian city, received over 40 kilograms of coins as medical care reimbursement, according to local newspaper Bandao Morning News on Saturday.

Ms. Mou receives compensation all in coins. /Bandao Morning News Photo

Last December, Ms. Mou traveled on a bus which was hit by another bus owned by the Dalian Yuanchen Passenger Transportation Company. It was a rear-end collision.

Many passengers were injured but Ms. Mou's injuries were serious.

“I was sitting in the last row. I got hurt around the waist, and it was too painful to bear,” she said.

Police eventually came to the conclusion that the bus company Yuanchen should take full responsibility for the accident.

Ms. Mou was later sent to a hospital for treatment, diagnosed with multiple soft-tissue injuries.

The bus company asked Ms. Mou to pay for the expenses amounting to 7,000 yuan (1,030 US dollars) with the promise of reimbursement.

40 kilograms of coins. /Bandao Morning News Photo

After recovering from the accident, Ms. Mou started asking for reimbursement, but it was in vain.

“For half a year, I visited the company’s office for over 10 times, yet they kept telling me to wait and procrastinated on the compensation,” Ms. Mou told the local newspaper.

On Saturday, Ms. Mou was told she could finally pick up her compensation. The company told her that she would receive compensation in "change".

Ms. Mou reached the company office along with her relatives, who helped her take all the coins back home.

“I thought they might give me notes. Never did I expect all the coins!”

Ms. Mou later found out the coins weighed 40 kilograms.

Ms. Mou shows some of the coins. /Bandao Morning News Photo

Ms. Mou believed the company paid her with coins out of revenge.

“We had unpleasant negotiations over the amount of money,” she said.

Over a million netizens read and shared the story on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, with some expressing incredulity.

“You should question the amount and ask the company staff to count all the coins! How dare they.” @tianerdeshishi commented.