Ethical Obligations and Decision Making in Accounting, 4/e 1
Case 1-3 NYC Subway Death: Bystander Effect or Moral
Blindness
On December 3, 2012, a terrible incident occurred in the New York City subway when Ki-Suck
Han was pushed off a subway platform by Naeem Davis. Han was hit and killed by the train,
while observers did nothing other than snap photos on their cell phones as Han was struggling to
climb back onto the platform before the oncoming train struck him. Davis was arraigned on a
second-degree murder charge and held without bail in the death of Han.
Abbasi told NBC’s “Today” show that he was trying to alert the motorman to what was going on
by flashing his camera. He said he was shocked that people nearer to the victim didn’t try to help
in the 22 seconds before the train struck. “It took me a second to figure out what was happening .
. . I saw the lights in the distance. My mind was to alert the train,” Abbasi said. “The people who
were standing close to him . . . they could have moved and grabbed him and pulled him up. No
one made an effort.”
In a written account Abbasi gave the Post, he said that the crowd took videos and snapped photos
on their cell phones after Han’s mangled body was pulled onto the platform. He said that he
Questions
1. Do you think the bystander effect was at work in the subway death incident? What
role might situational ethics have played in Abbasi’s response? How might the
bystander effect translate to a situation where members of a work group observe
financial improprieties committed by one of their group that threatens the
organization? In general, do you think that someone would come forward?
The bystander effect seems to be at work in the subway death. There were many
observers; many were using their cell phone to take pictures. It is possible that the
Ethical Obligations and Decision Making in Accounting, 4/e 2
2. Another explanation for the inaction in the subway incident is a kind of moral
blindness, where a person fails to perceive the existence of moral issues in a
particular situation. Do you believe moral blindness existed in the incident? Be sure
to address the specific moral issues that give rise to your answer.
Moral blindness may also describe someone who can’t tell right from wrong, rather than
just choosing to ignore doing the right thing. In the subway death, bystanders may not
have recognized the emergency and the urgency of helping Han. One may have thought
3. What would you have done if you were in Abbasi’s place and why?
I hope that I were in Abbasi’s place, I would be trying to help Han in some way. I
imagine yelling, drawing attention to the situation, and rushing forward to see if I could
get close enough to help. Grabbing others to pull Han from the tracks seems reasonable.