Residents worry about being hit by falling jackfruits

Ripen jackfruits hang on a tree.

The risk of getting hit while walking on the street by a jackfruit falling from a tree has raised concerns among some local residents, who hope that relevant government departments can address the safety hazards posed by the fruit trees planted on roadsides as soon as possible.

As it is now the rainy season in the city, residents said jackfruits are especially prone to falling when heavy rain and wind hit.

Jackfruits usually weigh between7.5 to10 kg per piece, but some heavy ones can weigh as much as15 to20 kg.

According to the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily, a netizen recently saw a passer-by almost get knocked over by a jackfruit on Beihuan Boulevard outside of the Nanlongyuan housing estate. Workers had taken down the jackfruits by the time a reporter with the Daily arrived at the scene.

In Longhua District, a temporary sidewalk near a pedestrian footbridge under construction was also found to pose a safety hazard, as there were around30 unripe jackfruits hanging on the trees near the sidewalk.

The reporter found that the jackfruit trees near the sidewalk belong to a nearby hotel. According to one of the hotel’s employees, the hotel hasn’t harvested the jackfruits because they aren’t mature. The employee added that the hotel’s manager would be informed of the situation.

Pan Xiang, a Shenzhen-based lawyer and a member of Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration, said that under the tort liability law and relevant judicial rules, the liability of jackfruits hitting pedestrians falls on the owners of the jackfruit trees unless they can prove otherwise.

In Shenzhen, the landscaping and maintenance of public greenery on the street is managed by greenery maintenance firms. Therefore, the firms will be held liable for providing civil compensation if they are found at fault for jackfruits hitting and hurting pedestrians, Pan said.