China's First Sexual Harassment Case Rejected

Home>>China

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, December 25, 2001

China's First Sexual Harassment Case Rejected

Plaintiff lost her appeal against sexual harassment case

The first instance of China's first sexual harassment case was lately terminated in Xi'an. The People's Court in Lianhu District of Xi'an City rejected the plaintiff---Mrs. Tong's appeal.

Mrs. Tong, a woman worker in her thirties of a State-owned enterprise, brought a suit to the Lianhu District People's Court in July 2001 against her boss's sexual harassment, which was regarded as the first sexual harassment case involving in the legal procedure. The case was tried not openly in the said court on October 26. After two months' hearing, the court turned down he plaintiff's prosecution for lack of sufficient evidence.

After the first instance, the defendant, Mr. Dai, expressed his satisfaction over the verdict during an interview with the reporter, but at the moment he didn't make any comments because he was not aware of the details of the judgment.

Rejection caused by insufficient evidence

The plaintiff's lawyer Ma Qiang showed his strong dissatisfaction with the result. During the trial, he argued that the plaintiff had produced a piece of direct evidence and eight pieces of indirect evidence. The direct evidence was that her colleague outside the general manager's office heard her words of refusal like "Don't do that". But the people's court didn't accept the direct evidence, saying that the witness had not entered the office and so wouldn't be able to know what was really happening inside; at the same time, the general manager's voice was not heard, so it was impossible to determine whom Mrs. Tong was refusing.

China lacks clearly defined provisions on sexual harassment

Some legal experts point out that the lawful rights and interests of victims of sexual harassment can't be fully protected under the present law which lacks clearly defined provisions on sexual harassment.

According to Kou Zhixin, a Chinese civil jurist and professor of the Northwest Institute of Political Science and Law, said that the provisions of the current civil law concerning infringement on citizen's personal rights and interests by sexual harassment are not specific, which makes handling of the case difficult. He said, under this situation, if one wants to win a lawsuit, the only way is to collect as much evidence as one can.

Plaintiff Loses China's First Sexual Harassment Case

The judge in China's first sexual harassment case has recently ruled in favor of the defendant in a closed trial.

According to the ruling handed down by the judge at the Lianhu District Court in Xian, the plaintiff could not provide sufficient evidence to support her case.

In her lawsuit, the plaintiff, Mrs. Tong said that since 1994 the company manager has deliberately touched her body on many occasions at the office while promising her a good job.

Tong accused her employer of asking her to go to a hotel room he had booked.

When Tong's boss was reprimanded, he made things difficult for her and withheld her bonus and allowances.

Angry and upset, Tong had to stay at home. When she tried to return to work, her company refused to give her a job and urged her to withdraw her petition.

According to the ruling, it is difficult to obtain direct evidence in the case and the evidence is hard to be confirmed. In addition there is no law on sexual harassment in China.

by PD Online Staff Yang Ruoqian

Sexual Harassment Rife In S.Korea Civil Service

Ethiopian Demonstrators Call for Capital Punishment for Rapists