The two brothers, Ran Ran, 7, and Hao Hao, 4, from Donghai County in East China's Jiangsu Province, were badly burnt on April 6, when they were tied to a tree and set alight by their friend Shun Shun, 10, who confessed he was imitating a scene from the cartoon "Xi Yangyang & Hui Tailang (Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf)."
The seven-year-old suffered burns over 80 percent of his body and his brother 40 percent.
Shun Shun's legal guardians and the cartoon producer, Guangzhou's Creative Power Entertaining Co., are jointly responsible for the two brothers' injuries, according to the verdict of the court.
The cartoon popular among children and adults features a wolf who hunts a goat and tries to prevent it from escaping, to no avail.
Scenes include the goat being plunged into boiling water and receiving electric shocks. The wolf's wife regularly beats her husband over the head with a pan when he fails to bring the goat home for their dinner.
The cartoon is aimed at children, so producers are obliged to scrutinize violence carefully, said the court, adding that inappropriate scenes should be cut and warnings given.
The cartoon has previously shown several scenes of violence, generating negative effects and resulting in serious consequences, the court said.
According to the ruling, Shun Shun's guardians will pay 60 percent of the injured brothers' compensation and the cartoon producer will shoulder 15 percent.
The Donghai County People’s Court refused to answer questions and referred queries to their propaganda office, where calls rang unanswered. The company declined to comment.
Users of China’s lively Twitter-like sites poured scorn on the assigning of blame on the company, with some questioning why state broadcaster China Central Television, which televised the cartoon, wasn’t being held responsible.
Hao Rui, a lawyer from Beijing Yingke Law Firm who specializes in lawsuits involving the media industry, said it was the first time he had heard of a producer being sued and held liable for a child imitating something seen on TV. One reason may be because the other defendants and the children’s family can’t afford to pay the medical costs, he said.
Fang attributed the tragedy to lack of parental supervision and correction.
Fan Hesheng, a professor of the School of Sociology and Political Science at Anhui University, echoed Fang's views, adding that parents should be responsible for educating their children to cherish life.
However, Fan believes the producer should get a harsher punishment as a warning to others.
Driven by profit, some animation companies ignore the negative effects of violence and porn to boost viewing figures, Fan said, calling for the establishment and enforcement of a grading system for animations, movies and TV programs for children.
By Ruchi Singh
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com