China's first lawsuit against car drivers filed by a local civil affairs bureau on behalf of beggars killed in car mishap had its first hearing Wednesday in a local court.

The Gaochun County People's Court in east China's Jiangsu Province did not made a final ruling on the case due to unsolved disputes, according to China Daily.

Two beggars, both around 60 years old, died in traffic accidents in 2004 and 2005 respectively in Gaochun, a county under the jurisdiction of Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu.

The Gaochun Civil Affairs Bureau conducted the funerals, but no relatives turned out to demand compensation, according to Chen Xiaozhong, dean of the bureau.

With the encouragement of local procuratorate, Chen's bureau acted as the attorney for the two beggars and sued two drivers last month in Gaochun People's Court for a compensation of 30,000 yuan (3,750 U.S. dollars). A passenger in one of the cars was also sued.

The country's regulation concerning beggars and trampers in cities, which became effective in August 2003, states that the local civil affairs bureau should safeguard their living, and extend legal help to them when their rights are impaired.

"We consider it an obligation for us to demand civil compensation for these unlucky men killed accidentally, although the regulation doesn't clearly designate this type of situation," said Chen."If we don't sue, the troublemakers will go unpunished in a legal vacuum."

However, lawyers hired by the three accused people are questioning the Gaochun Civil Affairs Bureau as a legitimate accuser to initiate a civil lawsuit.

Any accuser in a civil lawsuit should be the people or organizations whose interest are directly involved in the case. The civil affairs bureau does not fall into this category, said a lawyer surnamed Li who is representing the accused.

The three people accused said they would only compensate the true relatives of the two victims.

"There is no precedent in such a lawsuit. We need more time," said sources with the court.

But they estimated that the first ruling would be declared next month.

According to Chen, if they win the case, the compensation will be kept for five years on behalf the possible relatives who may surface within that time. After five years, the money will be donated to charitable funds managed by the state organs to help needy people.

Source: China Daily