Never throw anything from balconies or windows — cigarette butts, trash bags, and bottles all count

9. Never throw anything from balconies or windows — cigarette butts, trash bags, and bottles all count

Cost: 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.

In plain terms: 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.

Benefit: 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.

Evidence grade: A

Sources: National People's Congress Standing Committee (2025). Public Security Management Punishment Law (Revised in 2025, Article 43). <https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202506/t20250627_699863.shtml>; National People's Congress Standing Committee (2020). Criminal Law Amendment (11) (Article 33, i.e., Article 291-2 of the Criminal Law). <https://www.spp.gov.cn/zdgz/202012/t20201227_503682.shtml>; National People’s Congress (2020). Criminal Law (Amended in accordance with the Criminal Law Amendment (Eleven), Article 291-2). <https://jtgl.beijing.gov.cn/jgj/jgxx/flfg/fl/11033925/index.html>; Supreme People's Court of China (2024). Typical cases of punishing crimes endangering public security according to law (Case 1). <https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/429522.html>; Supreme People's Court of China (2025). Exclusive interview with Li Yong, Vice President of the Supreme People’s Court: Let anyone who throws objects from high altitudes be punished. <https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/458381.html>

Notes: Detention 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.