A man is suing a student he saved from drowning in an icy lake.

Yang Yong, from Changzhou, a city in east China's Jiangsu Province, pulled Huang Fei to safety in 1999.

Yang suffered a high fever after the rescue and has suffered with severe arthritis ever since.

He currently owes 10,000 yuan (US$1,250) worth of hospital fees, which he is unable to pay.

The 34-year-old is claiming a total compensation package of 260,000 yuan (US$32,500), which accounts for future treatment and loss of earnings for the rest of his life.

He is suing both Yang, who was a 17-year-old student of Changzhou Goods and Materials School at the time of the accident, and Chen Shengdi, the person who accidentally pushed Huang into the lake while she was riding her bike.

According to Wang Junjun, a judge from Tianning District People's Court, the court has received Yang's lawsuit and will deal with the case by the end of the month.

"Currently, relevant law designates that those who benefited from a person's life-saving act have the obligation to compensate the sacrifice made by the hero, so we are quite confident that Yang would get the compensation for the treatment he has already received," said Wang.

Yang has previously won two cases to cover previous treatment fees.

He said, however, that he now wanted to receive compensation to support him for the rest of his life.

"The figure takes into consideration both the treatment fees to come and loss of my earnings," said Yang.

"As it is a chronological disease, I want to get all the compensation at one time. I don't want to save the girl at one time, and destroy her at another. But I have no choice."

Yang was a vendor who rode to various districts to sell gingers, but is now unable to work due to his condition. His three-member family now live on the 400 yuan (US$50) every month earned by his wife from part-time jobs.

Yang needs 10,000 yuan (US$1,250) for treatment every year to prevent his arthritis from worsening.

He has also demanded a physical examination from the local judiciary department to decide the level of his illness.

Both Chen and Huang refused to comment on the latest claim.

"We felt gratitude to Yang as he saved my daughter's life. But to shoulder so much money is certainly not wanted by anyone," said Huang's mother.

According to Liu Weishuai, Yang's lawyer, Yang's wish to get all the compensation at one time may never come true due to the uncooperative attitude of Huang and Chen.

"Probably the claim will go on year after year," said Liu.

Yang received compensation totaling 12,000 yuan (US$1,500) from Huang and Chen after the two previous rulings made by Changzhou High People's Court in 2002 and 2004 to compensate for treatment fees between 2000 and 2004.

Some local governmental bodies have also supported Yang.

The Heroes Fund under the city's Civil Affairs Bureau has given about 20,000 yuan (US$2,500) to Yang in consideration of his difficult situation, according to a worker surnamed Zhang with the fund.

He was also given a 5,000-yuan (US$625) prize by the Changzhou municipal government in 2000, together with a medal for his heroic effort.

In accordance with rules made by Jiangsu Province, relevant governmental departments should take care of people injured while saving another person's life to ensure they can live comfortably.

But Liu, Yang's lawyer, said: "The rule is so abstract that it doesn't say any specific department should be responsible for people like Yang. Yang is really in a difficult situation."

Several cases of people who died or committed suicide after being haunted by chronological injuries from life-saving acts have been reported in recent years.

(China Daily January 10, 2006)