Germans fined over pensioner left to die in bank branch

A judge has imposed heavy fines on three people in the western German city of Essen for ignoring a pensioner who collapsed next to bank cash machines.

The 83-year-old man hit his head on the tiles and died a week later.

A fourth person had also ignored the pensioner, but was not ruled fit to stand trial. Medics were only alerted by the fifth customer at the scene.

The customers were identified in CCTV footage, which showed them stepping round the critically ill pensioner. It took 20 minutes for the pensioner to receive first aid.

Under German law, failure to respond to a medical emergency is punishable by a fine or up to a year in jail. People are required at least to alert emergency services, if they lack first aid skills.