Chinese tourist agrees to pay about ¥120,000 for broken jade bracelet

A female tourist, surnamed Fei, broke the bracelet with a price tag of 300,000 yuan (44,425 US dollars), while trying it on at a store in Yunnan province last month. The incident has caught the attention of China's netizens as the woman immediately fainted at the scene, and the shop demanded compensation.

The jade bracelet broken by Fei [Photo: 163.com]

According to the Gems and Jewelry Trade Association of Ruili city, Yunnan Province, the female tourist who accidentally broke a valuable bracelet in a local jewelry store has just reached an indemnity agreement with the store. The agreement stipulates that if the appraised value of an item is 170,000 yuan (25,174 US dollars) and the woman should pay 70% of it as compensation, around 120,000 yuan (17,770 US dollars), reports Chinanews.com.

"Both sides have signed the agreement," a spokesman of the association says. "Either cash or bank transfer is acceptable, but should not be in installments."

The woman, who suffers from poor economic conditions, later explained that she fell down in the store because the bracelet is too expensive for her to afford. She currently receives minimum living guarantee from the government.

An independent appraisal conducted by the Gems and Jewelry Trade Association of Ruili city, valued the broken bracelet close to 170,000 yuan, much less than the asking price of the shop.

After a long mediation process, the two sides finally agreed on how much the woman would have to compensate the store. However, the agreement has provoked intense discussions online.

Some people question the actual value of the bracelet, "If it were something really expensive, how dare the store not preserve it much more carefully?" Others are wondering how a woman receiving minimum living guarantee can afford the compensation about 120,000 yuan.