Picture of Saga International Shopping Mall in Xi'an. Photo: VCG

A fatal fall at a shopping mall in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province last month was determined to be an accident, authorities said Wednesday. The victim, surnamed Yan, died from injuries suffered in the fall, with investigators finding no signs of foul play or other abnormalities.

According to the investigation, police received a report at 12:13 pm on July 1 that a man had fallen inside the Saga International Shopping Mall. Surveillance footage showed that the victim entered the mall alone through a nearby subway station at about 11:40 am, took an elevator to the seventh floor and had no interaction with anyone before the incident. He posted his final WeChat moments update shortly before discarding his mobile phone in a trash bin.

At about 12:05 pm, Yan climbed over a railing on the seventh floor and fell to the B2 level. A bystander attempted to stop him but was unsuccessful. Emergency responders later confirmed that he had no signs of life at the scene.

At 1:02 pm, police completed the scene investigation and post-mortem examination before transferring Yan's body, with the assistance of staff from Xi'an Jiaotong University School of Medicine, to the school's morgue.

Following a scene examination, interviews and a review of surveillance footage, police from Yanta district (where the mall is located) concluded that Yan died from a fall from height. Investigators ruled out criminal activity, according to the police investigation.

The investigation said Yan was the legal representative of a company primarily engaged in the wholesale of clothing and apparel and sales agency services. The company had operated a store in the shopping mall since 2013.

The investigation also addressed allegations that the mall had imposed excessive penalties on Yan's company over the misuse of promotional vouchers. Authorities said the company, which participated in the mall's anniversary promotion in 2020, had improperly redeemed promotional coupons, a violation the company acknowledged in writing in 2021. Based on a contractual penalty clause, the mall deducted 11.546 million yuan ($1.6 million) in liquidated damages from the company's payments.

However, investigators found that the mall had unilaterally determined the calculation basis for the alleged violations without prior agreement from the company. A third-party audit concluded that the maximum possible value of the improperly redeemed vouchers was about 2.9 million yuan, far below the sales amount used by the mall to calculate the penalty. The investigation team preliminarily concluded that the 11.546-million-yuan penalty was excessive.

The investigation rejected online claims that Yan's company had been forcibly evicted from the mall. It found that two of the company's stores were not renewed after their leases expired on June 30, while the remaining two stores closed after their leases expired on July 31. Investigators said the mall had acted in accordance with the contracts but failed to adequately communicate with the long-term tenant before deciding not to renew the leases.

Authorities said that the mall and Yan's company have since reached a settlement over the contractual penalty. The investigation team ordered the mall to strengthen its compliance management and said it would continue investigating its business practices, with any violations to be dealt with in accordance with the law.

The investigation said that Yan had been diagnosed with depression and sought treatment at a mental health hospital on five occasions. He had previously exhibited suicidal behavior. Authorities said they had been providing support to Yan's family following his death and urged the public not to spread rumors and to respect the family's privacy.

Global Times