Japan's Mitsubishi Motor Vehicle Co. remains tight-lipped after failing to publicly provide evidence of its non-liability for a car accident, which was allegedly caused by brake failure.
The matter will now be resolved in court.
Lu Hui, from Changsha -- capital of Central China's Hunan Province -- was seriously injured when she was involved in a collision with a Mitsubishi-branded vehicle last year.
Mitsubishi insisted it had no legal responsibility in the accident, because the car involved had been assembled by a local factory producing agricultural vehicles without Mitsubishi's permission or supervision, according its latest public statement last Friday.
Zhou Jianhong, the injured woman's husband -- who demanded the company publish proof of its innocence by 10 am yesterday in a public statement made on Saturday -- announced yesterday he will bring Mitsubishi to court at "proper time."
However, Zhou admitted that lack of money was the biggest headache for his family a strong multinational company like Mitsubishi in legal combat, which is expected to last two to three years and cost approximately 300,000 yuan (US$36,000).
Zhou noted that money was even more urgently needed to send his wife back to hospital for treatment, after she left the hospital last June due to a lack of money.
On December 25 last year, Lu Hui was knocked down by a Mitsubishi-branded car in Changsha, which allegedly lost control because of its faulty braking system.
Later, the driver paid Lu some 70,000 yuan (US$850) in compensation and Mitsubishi paid 12,000 yuan (US$1,450) but denied using the word "compensation," according to local media.
Mitsubishi kept expressing willingness to arrange a settlement with the victim's family until last week, when it said the case will be resolved in court.
Lu was escorted to Beijing by her family last month for compensation negotiations with Mitsubishi representatives.
(China Daily December 19, 2001)
