Wang Fengli, an Anhui Province native, did not have any rewards in mind when he jumped into a river last month to save a broken-hearted young girl, who was trying to commit suicide.
But Shanghai has not forgotten the hero who sacrificed his life for others. The Shanghai Public Security Bureau yesterday honored Wang and rewarded his family.
According to a regulation on civilian crime-fighters, Wang's family can gain as much as 100,000 yuan (US$12,000) in rewards.
Apart from Wang, 17 other brave residents also received awards, issued by the public security bureau each month, including a 72-year-old man who fought with a rapist-cum-robber.
Police revealed that on July 14, a girl threw herself into a river at Yingzhou Park in Chongming County. Wang, in his 20s, jumped in after her, followed by another brave man - Xu Dong from the Chongming County Water Authority.
"Xu finally saved the girl. However, Wang was missing. We organized search operations for Wang, and found his body 20 kilometers away from the site two days later," said Zhao Jinyi, a Public Security Bureau spokesman.
Another tale of bravery involved Wang Xinhua, a retiree who stood out on July 7 to stop an attempted rape by a robber. The senior citizen is now a hero in his community, the bureau said.
"When Wang found a man throttling a woman at 1 a.m. on Wuding Road W. in Jing'an District, he screamed for help and rushed to fight the robber. His frantic appeals frightened the culprit, who escaped," said Zhao, adding that through Wang and the victim's tips, police soon nabbed the suspect.
Since 1990, the bureau has honored more than 3,000 citizens for their courage, awarding 700 of them, including 52 women.
(eastday.com August 25, 2002)
