Believe it or not...!!
From the Straits Times (April 2003)

Crowd haggles as boy drowns in river

BEIJING - A 12-year-old boy in central China's Henan province lost his life because a crowd of onlookers haggled over a monetary reward and refused to save him from drowning until an amount was fixed.

According to Chinese media reports, the victim had gone on a river outing together with his parents and relatives last week when tragedy struck.

Identified only by his surname, Li, the boy and a younger cousin were playing in the river although they did not know how to swim, according to the reports.

As the boy unknowingly ventured into deeper water, he had difficulty keeping afloat and began to struggle and shout for help.

His father wanted to rush to his aid but was held back by a relative because the father could not swim either.

In his despair, the father shouted for passers-by to help his drowning boy.

His shouts attracted a crowd of more than 10 people but no-one lifted so much as a finger to help until Mr Li was prompted to offer a monetary reward to the rescuer.

'I will pay anyone who saves my son,' yelled the frantic father.

But a member of the crowd retorted: 'No-one will save your son until you tell us how much you have to offer.'

Finally, the boy was pulled out of the water in less than two minutes after Mr Li promised to pay 10,000 yuan (S$2,100) to his rescuer.

But the reward was all in vain. The youngster died two days later in hospital.

IP Address:166.121.37.7