A man in China stepped in to save a woman—only to find himself caught in controversy. He is now being accused of groping the woman’s chest while performing CPR. The incident reportedly took place on July 12 in Hengyang, a city in China’s Hunan province.
Stepped In to Save Her Life, Faced Backlash
On a busy street, a woman suddenly collapsed, leaving people around her panicked and unsure of how to respond. A female doctor from a nearby hospital rushed to the spot and began performing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)—a life-saving technique that involves repeated chest compressions to manually restart the heart.
As time passed, the doctor grew tired and began asking for help from bystanders. That’s when a 42-year-old man, identified by his surname Pan, happened to be cycling by. Hearing the commotion and the doctor’s calls for help, he stopped and stepped forward to assist.
Pan told the doctor he was a teacher at a local medical college, held a clinical medicine degree, and was officially trained in CPR. He and the doctor began taking turns performing chest compressions. Meanwhile, the doctor continued monitoring the woman’s pulse and instructed her family to call an ambulance.
After nearly 10 minutes of joint effort, the woman slowly regained consciousness and her weak pulse returned. Once the ambulance arrived, she was rushed to a nearby hospital.
However, the moment—captured on video—soon went viral. What should have been a story of heroism instead sparked heated online debate and backlash.
Internet Users Split: Accusations vs. Support
According to South China Morning Post, several online users accused Pan of inappropriately touching the woman.
“He is obviously groping her chest,” one user claimed. “Why press on her chest? Why not massage her belly?” another asked.
Some said a woman should have done the CPR instead of a man.
At the same time, several others stepped up to support Pan—both online and offline.
A key eyewitness, Deng, who was present at the scene, told local media:
The situation was critical. No one thought about whether he had groped her or not. The woman had fainted and lost consciousness. They saved her through their efforts.Deng, An eyewitness
Others online echoed this view.
“In such emergencies, saving a life should be the top priority,” one user said.
“There’s no time to decide whether a man or woman should step in,” added another.
Pan Responds; Internal Inquiry Conducted
Shaken by the accusations, Pan told media outlets:
I feel frightened. If I had known I would be rebuked, I wouldn’t have taken the initiative to help. I’m bitterly disappointed.Pan, The CPR performer
He clarified that he had consciously placed his hands only on the woman’s sternum—the correct CPR hand position. “If anything was wrong, the female doctor would’ve stopped me,” he said.
Following the online controversy, the local teachers’ union conducted an internal inquiry. However, no legal charges have been filed against Pan.
(Rh/Pooja Bansal/MSM/SE)