Disclaimer: the article actually contains a gruesome enumeration of cases, you might wish not to read it.
According to Slate the Chinese law is:
- should you hurt someone (with a car?), you will provide for their care until death
- should you kill someone (with a car?), you will provide for their burial
And because providing for someone's care is more expensive than providing for their burial:
- reportedly, a number of Chinese drivers have purposefully backed on the injured, and driven forward again, to ensure the kill
- reportedly, some driving instructors (in Taiwan) even recommend the practice
The fact that this practice would be "common" of course seems rather ludicrous (who in the heat of the event could think so coldly?), however the enumeration is lengthy, citing plenty of cases.
Thus the question is double:
- did those gruesome cases actually happen?
- if they did, does one has any idea of the frequency at which it could happen?
Note: apparently other countries such as Taiwan may also have the issue, let's focus on China here.