Man in China posts video of himself rescuing woman from drowning, but she files takedown request

It's said that no good deed goes unpunished.

One man in China learnt this the hard way when a video he posted of himself rescuing a woman from drowning was apparently met with a takedown request by the latter.

According to Sina.com, citing Chinese media Shanghai Observer, the man surnamed Guo was walking by a canal in Hangzhou on Oct 14 when he saw a woman in the water. He jumped in, and the rescue was filmed by passers-by.

However, when he uploaded it onto social media the next day, the woman contacted him asking him to take it down before reporting it for "infringement of [her] portrait rights".

Under Article 1019 of the Civil Code of China, individuals or organisations cannot infringe on others' portrait rights or use them without the person's consent.

According to Sinchew Daily, Guo reuploaded the clip with the woman censored, though he suggested that she was not recognisable in the first video either.

Despite the backlash, he said that he would still choose to rescue someone if faced with the same situation again.

In an Oct 20 interview with ZMG News, Guo further admitted his blame but denied that his actions were purely to garner attention.

"I have no regrets, but no one would risk their life for show," he said.

drimac@asiaone.com