If he was driving a gas powered scooter with no license, then that guy is 100% responsible for the accident, regardless of the circumstances. If the police want to settle this "amicably", you can politely remind the family of where the law stands, and that the insurance company can hold them responsible for any damage to your car.
If the threats continue, file an official report at the foreign office of police headquarters. If they brush you off, call the consulate. The consulate takes these matters very seriously, especially because it didn't involve a night at Kundu and several cases of beer. When the consulate gets involved in such matters, things change immediately, because the police chief's career is suddenly on the line.
Fortunately, all you seem to be facing is a lot of wasted time and some red tape. Good luck.
From experience, but not wanting to disagree with people's useful comments, I have to say that unfortunately the illegality of the other drivers actions don't matter at all. As per my scenario the fact that the passenger was an illegal passenger meant nothing and we were still liable for her costs. Its crazy but its the way it works. I would really advise, as before, to forget about campaigning against the injustices of it. The insurance company will cover most things so don't worry.
As for the consulate, again I did enquire regarding this but was told that the incident was too small for them to take any part in. They will only get involved with major breaches of law, all they can do for this is to recommend a lawyer. I'm sure this case will be the same. That said, mentioning that I would be contacting my embassy seemed to intimidate the other party somewhat, so would be worth saying even if not following up.
But agreed, all you should suffer from is wasted time, a little bit of wasted money which should be re-couped from insurance on settlement and many unpleasant phone-calls trying to come to some kind of agreement. We were advised that if they refuse to settle and insist on silly compensation, just tell them to take you to court, you won't lose any more, it'll just drag it out. But understand that the court will just enforce the decision of the traffic police rather than adjusting blame, or even considering the death threats made, and then insurance will pay out.
To me, sounds as if gang related.
Recent Xinhua headline read:
"Gang boss stands trial in Kunming's mob crackdown"
Might be worthwhile contacting Mayor's office - - and suggesting to them you were contacting Consulate.
Might be worth a try.
Cheers - - JJ
@lil_farmer: usually certain illegalities of the other driver do not matter (extra passenger, broken taillight, etc), but driving a vehicle without a license basically makes any accident your fault according to Chinese law, which is also typically the case in most countries.
Of course the consulate wouldn't bother with a mere traffic accident, but they are legally bound to respond when a citizen's life has been threatened. I've seen it happen before and the Kunming PSB was put in the hot seat big-time
US Embassy - splendid idea but it will create a bit of a stink - however if you want some retribution for being verbally assaulted this is definitely a great stinker. For South China - you need to contact the US Consulate in Chengdu. They can usually provide assistance on what to do - but they may just tell you it's all bark and no bite.
Here's the gokunming link to the US Consulate Chengdu to speed things along:
www.gokunming.com/[...]
Thanks again for everyone's time and concern.We had no progress since the last time I posted; we're still waiting for the traffic police to make an official report.
As for the opposed party,we had little news with the most significant one being the injured person's broken nose surgery that as far as we've been informed ended successfully.
I already made a report of the whole incident which my school will present to the higher authorities.
@lil_farmer and @laotou,contacting the embassy is a good idea indeed,I will probably resolve to do that if the pressure from the person's family persists.
Regards,John.
just a accident,all others is bark,no any bite. easy
"I've heard a lot about gangs and mafia, etc here in Kunming. It is an amazing city and I hope that someday soon all these gangs will not be allowed to do the things they do"
no gangs or mafia in kunming.
mostly angry farmers, uneducated group of people etc...
sorry to hear you fell into this situation. I live close to where the accident happened.
I got into an accident myself in that area but a military car hit me while he was on red light.
i won the case in the end.
you have my full support.
I agree lots of angry farmers, etc but definitely some mafia as well my friend. check the news every once and awhile.
oh sorry ninja.
when i think of the mafia, i see the tony sopranos, the russians or mexican drug cartels.
