Security guard faces criticism for saving suicidal woman

Almost a year after the incident has left Qu Yan confined to a hospital bed

BEIJING (Web Desk) - A young security guard who suffered multiple injuries while trying to catch a girl who had jumped from a building ended up losing his job and getting criticised by the woman’s family.

28-year-old Qu Yan was working as a security guard at a hospital in China’s Jilin Province in 2022 when his life took a tragic turn. He was on duty when he received reports that a young girl had climbed onto a fourth-floor balcony and was threatening to jump to her death. He quickly ran outside and saw the young woman preparing to take her own life. Firefighters had not yet arrived, and a number of hospital employees were scrambling to improvise a net to catch the woman when she jumped. They never got the chance to do so, as the woman leaped from the balcony before they were ready, so Qu Yan reacted instinctively, rushing forward and trying to catch the woman in his arms.

The impact was so powerful that Qu Yan suffered multiple fractures all over his body, including in his arms and spine, but he managed to save the girl’s life. She needed hospitalization as well, but her injuries were much less severe, and she was discharged in a matter of days. The guard was not as lucky…

Almost a year after the incident that left Qu Yan confined to a hospital bed, his situation is not much improved. Doctors still can’t rule out permanent paralysis due to the damage to his spine, and, to make matters worse, his family can no longer afford to pay for his medication. They wouldn’t have to if he had insurance, but Qu Yan lost his job soon after rescuing the suicidal girl’s life, because he (obviously) couldn’t show up to work.

Qu Yan’s family tried contacting the security company he used to work for to ask them to cover part of his medical bills, because he had been injured on the job, but they refused, and the family didn’t have enough money to hire a lawyer for a legal battle. But they got the most shocking response when they tried contacting the family of the girl Qu Yan had saved. In a video, one of Qu Yan’s relatives can be seen calling the suicidal girl’s family, only to be berated and threatened by them.

“What have you done? Our child is like this now,” the girl’s mother says in the video. “My child is disabled. If something happens to her, you are also responsible and you have to bear the responsibility for the rest of your life.”

The young security guard’s tragic story melted the hearts of millions in China many of whom offered to help him financially. Many also criticised the family of the woman he saved for being so heartless instead of thanking him for saving her life.

“It’s so infuriating, why not be grateful?” one person commented.