A man who received compensation for his deceased daughter was denied a second payout meant for his ex-wife, after a court ruled against his lawsuit targeting the local township government.
On November 16, 2024, a fire broke out in a residential building in Sangzhi County, Hunan Province, when a tenant named Song, who occupied Room 203, stored used lithium batteries indoors. The blaze spread rapidly and claimed the lives of seven people in Room 303, including Tian Jia and her daughter Tian Yi.
Following the incident, the township government signed compensation advance agreements with the victims' relatives. The funds were transferred to a community account for oversight. For Tian Jia's compensation, which totaled 1,084,600 yuan including death benefits, funeral expenses, and bereavement damages, the agreement stipulated that 100,000 yuan would go to a relative for funeral arrangements, with the remaining 984,600 yuan placed under third-party supervision until beneficiaries could agree on a distribution plan or receive a court ruling. Yu, Tian Jia's ex-husband and Tian Yi's father, had already collected the compensation intended for his daughter. He later sought to claim his ex-wife's portion as well, arguing that since Tian Yi was the rightful beneficiary and had died, the inheritance should pass to him.
The Zhangjiajie Intermediate People's Court, in a recently published second-instance ruling, rejected Yu's appeal. The first-instance court had already dismissed his claim, stating that the township government was not the liable party, nor was it an heir or estate administrator, and therefore was not the proper defendant in the case. The court also found that Yu's assertion that his inheritance rights were infringed upon lacked both factual and legal grounds.
According to the investigative report released on May 27, 2025, by the Zhangjiajie Emergency Management Bureau, Song's storage of waste lithium batteries in Room 203 caused the fire, which subsequently spread to Room 303 through storage spaces. All seven victims were located in Room 303. Song, deemed directly responsible for the accident, was placed under criminal investigation by the Sangzhi County Public Security Bureau on November 17, 2024, on suspicion of negligently causing a fire.