Never throw anything from balconies or windows — cigarette butts, trash bags, and bottles all count
Even if you throw something from a height and do not hit anyone, you can still be detained for up to 5 days and fined 1,000 yuan. For more serious cases, the detention period rises to 10–15 days. If your actions do end up hitting someone, the charges become even more severe. For example, a man who was drunk on the 21st floor threw empty bottles and glass cups down to a playground below, striking a 13-year-old student and leaving them with serious injuries; he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Another individual threw 8 bricks from the 32nd floor, killing one person; in 2024, the Supreme People’s Court approved a death sentence for this offender.
This costs nothing and takes no time at all. Simply bring…
Throwing objects from heights or other elevated locations can lead to detention for up to 5 days or a fine of…
This costs nothing and takes no time at all. Simply bring cigarette butts, trash bags, and bottles indoors and toss them in the household trash bin; never throw them out of windows or from balconies.
Throwing objects from heights or other elevated locations can lead to detention for up to 5 days or a fine of up to 1,000 yuan, provided there is any risk of harming people, damaging property, or threatening public safety. For more serious violations, the detention period rises to 10–15 days, plus an additional fine of up to 1,000 yuan. If the act meets the criteria for the crime of throwing objects from heights, the offender faces up to 1 year in prison, plus a fine imposed either alongside the sentence or on its own. Cases involving injury or death to others are prosecuted under even stricter criminal statutes. A notable official case involves Li, who threw empty bottles and glass cups from the 21st floor while intoxicated; he struck a 13-year-old student with severe injuries, resulting in a 10-year sentence for endangering public safety via dangerous acts. Another case involves Zhou, who hurled 8 bricks at a crowd from the 32nd floor, killing one person; his death sentence was approved by the Supreme People’s Court in 2024, marking a nationwide precedent.
全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，第四十三条）. https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202506/t20250627_699863.shtml；全国人大常委会 (2020). 刑法修正案（十一）（第三十三条，即刑法第二百九十一条之二）. https://www.spp.gov.cn/zdgz/202012/t20201227_503682.shtml；全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第二百九十一条之二）. https://jtgl.beijing.gov.cn/jgj/jgxx/flfg/fl/11033925/index.html；最高人民法院 (2024). 依法惩治危害公共安全犯罪典型案例（案例一）. https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/429522.html；最高人民法院 (2025). 专访最高法副院长李勇：让高空抛物行为人都能被处罚. https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/458381.html
Open source linkDetention can be imposed even if no one is harmed, as the law only requires proof of a potential risk. The Civil Code also contains a separate provision on civil compensation related to objects thrown from heights (Article 1254). At the time of writing, we were unable to access the original legal texts, so no direct citations are included here.