Here comes the paradox. If a driver hits someone, it can be more trouble if the victim is injured than dead.

When it comes to taking care of the injured or disabled victims, endless financial or mental burdens are actually beyond many people's means. That's why many perpetrators choose to flee the scene. Their calculation tells them even the worst scenario of being caught is better than the ruin of their entire family.

In fact, cases of hit-and-run have risen sharply since the adoption of the revised law. Drivers, especially in rural areas, have learned to run away rather than wait for trouble after an incident.

That's part of the reason why Yao, who had heard so much of the horrible rumors about endless compensation, became a murderer in a flash.

Obviously, something must be done to fix this glitch in legislation.

Huge compensation, though well-meant, won't deter the rise of the hit-and-runners unless all such deeds are considered criminal offenses leading to harsh punishment.

In addition, coordination with other measures, including insurance coverage and medical assistance for the victims, is indispensable.

Making fleeing the scene of an accident result in harsher penalties is necessary because merely offering higher compensation will justify and strengthen the idea that human life can be priced.

This will inevitably lead spoilt young people like Yao to keep killing.

If we don't act, lives will remain cheap on China's roads.

The author is an English tutor and freelancer in Shenzhen. [email protected]