7-Year-Old Chinese Girl Throws 4-Year-Old Into Well, Says She Copied TV Show [Video]

KEY POINTS

A 7-year-old girl in the Chinese village of Haqian dropped a younger neighbor down a well
She claimed she was imitating a plot she saw on a television drama at the time
The victim, 4, was rescued and developed a mild cold and cough following the incident

A 7-year-old girl in China's southwestern Yunnan province was caught on camera dropping a younger neighbor into a well in what she claimed was an attempt to mimic a move she saw on a television drama.

The incident happened in the village of Haqian in Songming county's Xiaojie town on March 8, an unnamed local source told Beijing News, a newspaper owned by the country's ruling Chinese Communist Party.

Both minors were playing around two wells that day when the girl suddenly lifted the boy and dropped him into one of the water holes, surveillance camera footage showed.

The 4-year-old boy was able to grab the well's edge with his hands, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.

However, the girl forced the boy's hands off the edge, resulting in him falling down the 5-meter-deep (16.4 feet) well.

The well reportedly had a water level of around 2 meters, or around 6.5 feet, at the time.

Residents heard the boy's cries for help, and he was rescued 10 minutes after being thrown into the well, Songming county police said.

"He had a mild cold and cough, perhaps due to inhaling some water," a woman from the village told Beijing News.

The girl later claimed she was imitating a plot she saw on a television series.

Her family has apologized for the incident by giving the boy's family money and some food, according to an unnamed village committee official.

The two families are reportedly neighbors, and the children often played together before the incident.

The girl's family also took the boy for a medical checkup on March 10, where he was given a clean bill of health, per SCMP.

Relevant departments have supposedly provided psychological assistance for the boy as well.

Both families have reached a settlement, the village committee official claimed.

"The girl is aware she's done something wrong. Both the two children are still young and they have a low awareness of security," he said.

It was unclear if the girl or her family will face any charges.

The two wells have been sealed with covers.

The incident in Haqian has reportedly garnered 100 million reads on the Chinese social media platform Weibo and 10 million views on Douyin, which is China's version of TikTok.

Local police have urged the public not to share videos of the incident to prevent copycat crimes.