Guangxi Guilin: Developer hires unqualified personnel to repair villa quality issues; worker falls to death, body remains for seven days, turning the house into an “unlucky house”

Core Reminder: In Guilin, a city renowned as "the most beautiful under heaven" for its landscapes, the Ronghe Taohuayuan Villa Area, which should have been a haven of peaceful life, witnessed a preventable tragedy. As a result, Mr. Yang's new home—where he had not yet moved in—became an "unlucky house" where a body lay for seven days. What is even more shocking is that behind this tragedy lies a web of negligence: the developer, Guilin Ronghe Real Estate Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Ronghe Company), hired unqualified construction teams, neglected supervision and safety protocols, and flouted regulations. Coupled with the puzzling attitude of Guilin's natural resources department, this has woven a net of despair for the homeowner in his fight for justice.

Mr. Yang, the homeowner, reported that he purchased a villa in Guilin's Ronghe Taohuayuan community. During renovations, he discovered issues such as hollow and cracked walls. Ronghe Company hired unqualified contractors for repairs without supervision. A construction worker, Mr. Xiao, violated safety rules, fell from the 4th floor of the villa, and died on the spot. The developer and the construction team failed to promptly reach a compensation agreement with the deceased's family, leaving the body in the villa for seven days. The body was only removed after the family received compensation. Mr. Yang's unoccupied villa was turned into a mourning hall. He had already spent over 500,000 yuan on renovations, but the developer's reckless actions turned his villa into an "unlucky house." When Mr. Yang sought to return the house, the developer refused, suggesting he negotiate with the deceased's family and the construction team for compensation.

Scene of the incident at the villa.

Reported by Yang Yang, reporter from China Morning Newspaper - Lighthouse News

A Sudden Disaster: Worker Falls to His Death from the 4th Floor

"I was eagerly renovating my villa, but the developer's reckless actions turned my new home into a mourning hall. A body lay here for seven days, making it an 'unlucky house'—I feel scared even entering it now," Mr. Yang from Guilin told reporters recently. In March 2023, he spent over 3.28 million yuan to purchase Courtyard 35, Unit 103, in the Ronghe Taohuayuan community. Shortly after renovation work began, he discovered severe quality issues such as 43 large areas of hollow walls and 3 water-leaking spots. He reported these problems to Ronghe Company multiple times.

On December 10, 2024, Lu, the project manager of Ronghe Taohuayuan, arranged for Li—who had no construction qualifications—to repair Mr. Yang's villa to cut costs. Li then contacted He for the repairs, and on December 17, 2024, He, Xiao, and three others started work. At 9 a.m. on December 19, Xiao removed the double-layer safety net in the stairwell to transport sand from the lower floor to the 4th floor. He then used a simple hoist placed on the 4th floor by the homeowner, with its base weighted down by 3 bags of sand (each about 60 jin). At around 9:20 a.m., after setting up the hoist, Xiao operated it to lift 3 bags of sand bundled by Zhu from the lower floor. Due to an imbalance between the lifted load and the counterweight, the hoist became unstable and toppled. Xiao, who was not wearing a safety belt, was dragged down by the hoist and fell onto the stairs between the 1st floor and the basement. Zhu heard a loud "bang," rushed upstairs, and found Xiao with severe head bleeding. Tan, another worker at the scene, immediately called 120 for emergency help.

After the incident, staff from Ronghe Property Management rushed to the scene and called the police. Paramedics from 120 arrived shortly after and confirmed Xiao's death.

Mr. Yang stated that when he arrived at the villa, Xiao had already died, and the double-layer safety net he had installed in the stairwell had been removed. "If the safety net hadn't been taken down, the worker might not have died from the fall," he said. After the incident, Ronghe Company and the construction team failed to handle the aftermath promptly, deadlocking with the deceased's family over compensation. The family rented a refrigerated coffin, and the body remained in the villa for a full seven days. It was only moved after the Diecai District government and relevant departments mediated to reluctantly reach a compensation agreement. Mr. Yang's once-anticipated new home was instantly turned into a temporary mourning hall and an "unlucky house" where a body had lain.

A pool of blood remained where the worker fell from the 4th floor.

Official Report: Tragedy Caused by Unqualified Construction

On April 10, 2025, Diecai District released an accident investigation report, stating that the falling accident from height resulted in 1 death and direct economic losses of approximately 1.1 million yuan. The investigation concluded that the accident was a general work safety liability incident caused by the construction unit (Ronghe Company) subcontracting the project to an unqualified contractor, lack of on-site safety supervision, and workers' violation of operational rules.

The investigation found that Ronghe Company subcontracting the project to Li, an unqualified contractor, failed to review and supervise the contractor's qualifications, the presence of on-site management personnel, or the availability of safe construction conditions, and neglected its work safety management responsibilities. Given that Xiao died in the accident, it is recommended that no further pursuit of his work safety liabilities be made.

In the recommendations for handling those responsible, Liang, the executive deputy general manager of Ronghe Company, and Lu, the project manager of Ronghe Taohuayuan, violated relevant provisions of the Work Safety Law and bore management responsibilities for the accident. It is recommended that the emergency management department impose penalties in accordance with the Work Safety Law. Additionally, Ronghe Company’s subcontracting of the project to an unqualified contractor and failure to fully identify and eliminate on-site safety hazards violated Article 49, Paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Work Safety Law, making it liable for work safety management in the accident. Penalties by the emergency management department under the Work Safety Law are recommended.

The official accident investigation report confirmed that Ronghe Company bears work safety management responsibilities for the incident.

Refusal by Developer to Approve Return of the House

Mr. Yang stated that by the time of the fatal fall, he had already spent over 500,000 yuan on renovations. He held no responsibility for the accident; the blame lay with the developer. His new, unoccupied house had become an "unlucky house," and he felt too traumatized to continue renovations or move in. Reselling it as a second-hand property would undoubtedly lead to a price drop, making him the biggest victim. He currently remains in rented accommodation. On April 16 this year, he requested the developer to take back the house and compensate for renovation losses.

On April 21, the developer responded in writing, claiming that it had subcontract the project to Guilin Jian’an Construction Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Jian’an Company), a qualified contractor. The accident involving Jian’an’s maintenance worker Xiao during operations in the house was unrelated to the developer, as it occurred during Jian’an’s maintenance work. Ronghe Company denied any fault and refused the return request. It suggested that if Mr. Yang believed the incident or the deceased’s family’s act of keeping the body had devalued the house, he should negotiate with Jian’an Company or Xiao’s family for compensation.

Mr. Yang dismissed the developer’s response as full of lies. According to the accident investigation report, Ronghe Company had signed a strategic cooperation agreement for minor works with Jian’an Company in July 2021, which expired on December 31, 2022.

The investigation confirmed that the accident occurred on December 19, 2024, outside the term of Ronghe’s agreement with Jian’an, so Jian’an bore no responsibility for the incident. Instead, Ronghe Company was found liable for work safety management in the accident. Further investigation revealed that on December 10, 2024, Lu, the project manager of Ronghe Taohuayuan, arranged for Li to undertake the maintenance of the house without signing a contract or agreement.

Mr. Yang said, “Ronghe Company has firmly rejected my reasonable demands and absurdly shifted blame to the deceased’s family and Jian’an Company, telling me to ‘negotiate’ with them for compensation. This is a complete evasion of responsibility and a blatant lie.”

Exterior view of the villa where the incident occurred.

Relevant Authorities Accused of "Pretending to Sleep" Over Illegal Construction

After failing to get his refund, Mr. Yang obtained the approved construction blueprints from the housing authority and uncovered a larger, more shocking illegal scandal in the Ronghe Taohuayuan community. He discovered that the developer had heavily promoted the alluring slogan "buy three floors, get five" during sales. The courtyard show home had also converted parking spaces into basement floors (B1 and B2) for residential use, and the promotional maps at the sales office clearly marked five floors. He further found that the developer had failed to construct according to the approved engineering designs, openly partitioning the planned underground public parking lot—owned collectively by all residents—with walls, allowing owners to convert it into residential space like the show home. This practice, entirely deviating from the legally approved blueprints, constitutes a typical case of illegal construction. Equipped with solid evidence, Mr. Yang filed a实名举报 (real-name report) with the Guilin Natural Resources Bureau, alleging over 1,000 square meters of illegal construction in the community. He requested an investigation, the demolition of illegal structures in over a dozen courtyard homes (including his own and the show home), and strict accountability for the developer.

On March 20 this year, the Guilin Natural Resources Bureau responded in writing, stating that it had received Mr. Yang’s report. After investigation, Ronghe Company had not yet applied for planning verification of the community’s basement. For existing issues, the bureau had legally ordered rectification in line with planning and suspended the project’s planning verification.

On March 24, the bureau replied via Guangxi’s 12345 platform, noting that according to the attached drawings of Guilin Planning and Construction Technical Document [2018] No. 67, the area beneath Building 3x of Taohuayuan was designated as an underground public parking lot. To date, the community’s basement has not undergone planning verification. Failure to construct according to blueprints violates Article 28 of the Regulations on the Administration of Construction Project Quality, which mandates that construction units must follow engineering designs and technical standards, without unauthorized modifications or cutting corners. Article 64 stipulates that such violations shall be ordered to rectify.

Sales materials of the developer of Taohuayuan promote that "buying three floors gets five floors".

Mr. Yang stated that the bureau’s response confirms that the B1 and B2 floors of his villa are illegal structures, and he demands the natural resources department to open an investigation and demolish the illegal parts of his home. Faced with widespread, obvious illegal constructions in the community, the Guilin Natural Resources Bureau has shown puzzling sluggishness and inaction. Despite his repeated inquiries, the bureau has delayed launching an effective investigation, appearing to "pretend to sleep" selectively. Additionally, Mr. Yang found that illegal renovations involved cutting and removing fire pipelines, leaving only main pipes—posing significant safety hazards.

After nearly a year of appeals, enduring evasion and indifference, Mr. Yang no longer harbors any illusions about the developer. He stated that he will initiate legal proceedings to sue the Guilin Natural Resources Bureau for administrative inaction.

Engineering design drawings show that the area beneath the courtyard homes is an underground public parking lot.

Developer Official: "I’m unaware of the situation. Let’s talk later"

Regarding how the emergency management department penalized the developer and its responsible personnel for the accident; why the developer, despite the investigation report confirming it subcontracted to an unqualified party and bore safety management responsibilities, later claimed in its reply to the owner that it had subcontracted to the qualified Guilin Jian’an Construction Group; and how it responds to Mr. Yang’s refund request and his report on unapproved construction and widespread illegal structures—the Huaxia Morning Post-Lighthouse News attempted to contact Guilin Ronghe Real Estate Co., Ltd. Liang Yuli, the company’s executive deputy general manager, answered the call but said, "I’m unaware of this matter. Let’s talk later," before hanging up immediately.

The accident notice for the "12·19" general falling incident in Diecai District’s Ronghe Taohuayuan mentioned penalties for Ronghe Company, Deputy General Manager Liang Yuli, Project Manager Lu, and unqualified contractor Li. When asked whether penalties had been imposed and what they entailed, Yang Fuxi, Director of the Diecai District Emergency Management Bureau, told reporters that penalties had been issued but would only be disclosed to the parties involved or their lawyers, not to the public.

Regarding Mr. Yang’s complaints about Ronghe Taohuayuan’s unapproved construction, the conversion of underground parking lots into residences in the show home and some业主 homes, and related illegal structures—whether the Guilin Natural Resources Bureau had initiated a formal investigation—the reporter repeatedly called relevant officials of the bureau on July 22, but all calls went unanswered, and no response was received to interview text messages.

China Morning Newspaper-Lighthouse News will continue to follow this matter and provide updates.

The Guilin Natural Resources Bureau’s reply evaded the issue of investigating and handling illegal constructions.