Labor camp mother loses claim for compensation
Source: Xinhua/Shanghai Daily |
April 13, 2013, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A COURT in central China yesterday dismissed a compensation claim by a mother sent to a labor camp after she demanded justice for her 11-year-old daughter who had been raped, in a high-profile case that sparked debate about reform of the labor camp system.
After a one-day trial, the Intermediate People's Court in Hunan Province's Yongzhou City denied Tang Hui's request for 1,463.85 yuan (US$234) from the city's re-education through labor commission for infringing her personal freedom.
The court also rejected Tang's request for a written apology from the commission and 1,000 yuan for the metal damage she suffered.
Tang's sentence given by the Yongzhou City Re-education Through Labor Commission last August was based on the facts of her law violation, and the sentence was clear and legal, the court said yesterday.
Tang said after the hearing that she would file an appeal.
"She's now in extreme despair, she doesn't believe in the law anymore," Si Weijiang, Tang's lawyer, said. "She stood crying outside the courthouse for a very long time."
Tang has petitioned for harsher punishments for those guilty of raping her daughter and forcing the girl into prostitution.
She was put into a labor camp in Yongzhou for "seriously disturbing social order and exerting a negative impact on society" by petitioning in front of local government buildings in August last year.
She was sentenced to 18 months in the labor camp, but was released eight days later amid a public outcry urging her release.
On January 22, Tang filed a lawsuit at the Yongzhou court, and it accepted the case on January 28.
At yesterday's hearing, Tang's lawyer said the commission had illegally infringed upon her personal freedom, otherwise it would not have later withdrawn the sentence.
However, the defendant's lawyer said the decision to withdraw the sentence was given as Tang had a daughter who was still a minor and in need of her mother's care.
Tang's case sparked public calls for reform of the labor camp system, which allows police to detain people for up to four years without an open trial.
Ma Huaide, vice president of the China University of Political Science and Law, said it is widely expected that the case will become a landmark for such reform.
The system was approved by the top legislature and established in the 1950s, a time when the Communist Party of China was consolidating the newly founded republic and rectifying social order. It played an important part in maintaining social stability, but drawbacks have been found in recent years, according to Ma,
This year, the government will push the reform of the labor camp system, according to the national political and legal work conference that concluded on January 8.
"Although Tang lost the case, the public thinking it triggered will not stop," said Ma.
After a one-day trial, the Intermediate People's Court in Hunan Province's Yongzhou City denied Tang Hui's request for 1,463.85 yuan (US$234) from the city's re-education through labor commission for infringing her personal freedom.
The court also rejected Tang's request for a written apology from the commission and 1,000 yuan for the metal damage she suffered.
Tang's sentence given by the Yongzhou City Re-education Through Labor Commission last August was based on the facts of her law violation, and the sentence was clear and legal, the court said yesterday.
Tang said after the hearing that she would file an appeal.
"She's now in extreme despair, she doesn't believe in the law anymore," Si Weijiang, Tang's lawyer, said. "She stood crying outside the courthouse for a very long time."
Tang has petitioned for harsher punishments for those guilty of raping her daughter and forcing the girl into prostitution.
She was put into a labor camp in Yongzhou for "seriously disturbing social order and exerting a negative impact on society" by petitioning in front of local government buildings in August last year.
She was sentenced to 18 months in the labor camp, but was released eight days later amid a public outcry urging her release.
On January 22, Tang filed a lawsuit at the Yongzhou court, and it accepted the case on January 28.
At yesterday's hearing, Tang's lawyer said the commission had illegally infringed upon her personal freedom, otherwise it would not have later withdrawn the sentence.
However, the defendant's lawyer said the decision to withdraw the sentence was given as Tang had a daughter who was still a minor and in need of her mother's care.
Tang's case sparked public calls for reform of the labor camp system, which allows police to detain people for up to four years without an open trial.
Ma Huaide, vice president of the China University of Political Science and Law, said it is widely expected that the case will become a landmark for such reform.
The system was approved by the top legislature and established in the 1950s, a time when the Communist Party of China was consolidating the newly founded republic and rectifying social order. It played an important part in maintaining social stability, but drawbacks have been found in recent years, according to Ma,
This year, the government will push the reform of the labor camp system, according to the national political and legal work conference that concluded on January 8.
"Although Tang lost the case, the public thinking it triggered will not stop," said Ma.
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