Mother of rape victim wins case for damages
Source: Xinhua/Shanghai Daily |
July 16, 2013, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE mother of a rape victim sent to a labor camp after demanding stricter punishments for her daughter's attackers was awarded damages by a court in central China's Hunan Province yesterday.
Tang Hui, who became a figurehead for critics of the "re-education through labor" system after she was condemned to 18 months in a camp, won a total of 2,641 yuan (US$430) following an appeal.
The Higher People's Court of Hunan in the provincial capital of Changsha awarded compensation on the grounds that local authorities had violated Tang's personal freedom and caused her "psychological damage."
But it rejected Tang's demand that the police who sentenced her write a formal apology, because the "relevant people had apologized in court."
The 40-year-old appealed to the court in April after the Yongzhou Intermediate People's Court denied her request for an apology and compensation from Yongzhou's re-education through labor commission.
Tang was put into the labor camp after publicly petitioning for harsher punishments for those found guilty of raping her daughter and forcing her into prostitution.
Tang said she was relatively "satisfied" with the result but regretted that her demand for a written apology had been refused. The court said the re-education through labor commission claimed it had already expressed an apology in court on July 2.
"I have found these past few days very tiring. Now, I just want to let all this go from my mind and have a good rest, not caring about anything else," Tang said after the verdict.
Jiang Jianxiang, a legal representative for the commission and police chief in Yongzhou, said it would obey the verdict and hoped Tang could resume her normal life.
In October 2006, Tang's then 11-year-old daughter was kidnapped, raped and forced into prostitution. She was rescued on December 30 the same year.
On June 5, 2012, the provincial Higher People's Court sentenced two of the girl's kidnappers to death. Four others were given life sentences and another received a 15-year prison term.
Tang insisted on harsher punishments for all those found guilty.
She was put in a labor camp in Yongzhou for "seriously disturbing social order and exerting a negative impact on society" after protesting in front of local government buildings on August 2, 2012.
She was sentenced to 18 months in the camp, but released eight days later after a public outcry.
In January, the commission rejected her demand for compensation for the time she spent in the camp.
On January 22, Tang filed a lawsuit at the Yongzhou Intermediate People's Court in which she asked for 2,463.85 yuan in compensation, the same amount specified in her appeal. Her case was heard on January 28, with courtroom proceedings lasting a single day.
On April 12, the court ruled that Tang was not entitled to the compensation she requested. She then appealed.
The labor camp system allows police to detain people for up to four years without an open trial. The practice has been widely questioned in recent years. In January, China said it would be reforming the controversial program.
Tang Hui, who became a figurehead for critics of the "re-education through labor" system after she was condemned to 18 months in a camp, won a total of 2,641 yuan (US$430) following an appeal.
The Higher People's Court of Hunan in the provincial capital of Changsha awarded compensation on the grounds that local authorities had violated Tang's personal freedom and caused her "psychological damage."
But it rejected Tang's demand that the police who sentenced her write a formal apology, because the "relevant people had apologized in court."
The 40-year-old appealed to the court in April after the Yongzhou Intermediate People's Court denied her request for an apology and compensation from Yongzhou's re-education through labor commission.
Tang was put into the labor camp after publicly petitioning for harsher punishments for those found guilty of raping her daughter and forcing her into prostitution.
Tang said she was relatively "satisfied" with the result but regretted that her demand for a written apology had been refused. The court said the re-education through labor commission claimed it had already expressed an apology in court on July 2.
"I have found these past few days very tiring. Now, I just want to let all this go from my mind and have a good rest, not caring about anything else," Tang said after the verdict.
Jiang Jianxiang, a legal representative for the commission and police chief in Yongzhou, said it would obey the verdict and hoped Tang could resume her normal life.
In October 2006, Tang's then 11-year-old daughter was kidnapped, raped and forced into prostitution. She was rescued on December 30 the same year.
On June 5, 2012, the provincial Higher People's Court sentenced two of the girl's kidnappers to death. Four others were given life sentences and another received a 15-year prison term.
Tang insisted on harsher punishments for all those found guilty.
She was put in a labor camp in Yongzhou for "seriously disturbing social order and exerting a negative impact on society" after protesting in front of local government buildings on August 2, 2012.
She was sentenced to 18 months in the camp, but released eight days later after a public outcry.
In January, the commission rejected her demand for compensation for the time she spent in the camp.
On January 22, Tang filed a lawsuit at the Yongzhou Intermediate People's Court in which she asked for 2,463.85 yuan in compensation, the same amount specified in her appeal. Her case was heard on January 28, with courtroom proceedings lasting a single day.
On April 12, the court ruled that Tang was not entitled to the compensation she requested. She then appealed.
The labor camp system allows police to detain people for up to four years without an open trial. The practice has been widely questioned in recent years. In January, China said it would be reforming the controversial program.
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