The Qidong County Justice Bureau in Hunan Province has launched an investigation into the case, which was later settled through mediation at a local police station, Beijing News reported on Aug. 24.

The man entered the card parlor in Qidong County, Hengyang City, on Aug. 17 and sat on a chair near the entrance.

Within a minute, he appeared to be feeling unwell, but the shop owner had not spoken to or interacted with him, her son, surnamed Li, told Jiupai News.

After the man had been sitting for about five minutes, the owner noticed that his eyes were closed and that he was beginning to slump from the chair, her husband told Mengmao News.

She reached out to steady him but was pulled down as he fell.

Someone at the scene suggested taking the man outside for fresh air. The owner helped move him out while others called an ambulance, Li said.

The ambulance arrived about five minutes later. The man still had vital signs but was no longer responsive. He had stopped breathing by the time he reached hospital and later died, according to the owner's husband.

During attempts to resuscitate him, the man's wife called relatives and said he had diabetes and several other chronic illnesses, Li's mother said. Authorities have not released an official cause of death.

The man's relatives later went to the shop and claimed that because he had collapsed there and the owner had physically intervened, she should bear responsibility, Li said.

The owner's husband recalled being told that the man might have been fine if they had simply left him sitting in the chair, and that the owner's decision to help had made the incident their responsibility.

The man's relatives demanded 100,000 yuan and allegedly threatened to leave his body outside the shop if they were not paid.

After two rounds of mediation at a neighborhood police station, the two sides agreed on a payment of 19,000 yuan.

Police confirmed to reporters that the mediation had been completed and the money transferred, adding that either side could still file a civil lawsuit if they disputed the outcome.

Li said the incident had taken a toll on his mother, who had suffered insomnia, dizziness and loss of appetite. His father eventually agreed to the payment because he was worried about her health.

The card parlor has remained closed, while Li's sister has been caring for their mother. The family had recently paid rent on the premises, where they had operated the business for two years, and has yet to decide whether to reopen.

On the evening of Aug. 23, local authorities offered to reimburse the family for the 19,000-yuan settlement.

Zhang Jianqi, a lawyer at Zhejiang Wulian Law Firm, told Qianjiang Video that under China's Civil Code, civil tort liability generally requires evidence of fault.

Based on the reported circumstances, there was no apparent wrongdoing by the shop owner, Zhang said.

There was also no evidence that unsafe conditions at the shop, such as a slippery floor, caused the man to fall, or that someone else knocked him over, he added.

Without evidence of fault or another legal basis for liability, Zhang said there appeared to be no grounds for requiring the shop owner to compensate the man's family.