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Verdict against heroic mom flies in the face of justice
By People's Daily |
August 7, 2012, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
TANG Hui, a petitioner in Yongzhou, Hunan Province, was recently sentenced to one and a half years of education through labor for seeking justice for her daughter who had been subjected to horrendous sexual abuse.
Six years ago, the girl, then aged 11, was abducted and forced into prostitution for three months, during which time she was gang raped and contracted venereal disease, which resulted in sterilization. Her mother risked everything to save her and bring her tormenters to justice. Had she not threatened to jump off a building, prosecutors wouldn't even have taken her case.
Eventually two of the criminals were sentenced to death and another five were given life imprisonment or long jail terms in June. On August 5, however, Yongzhou police said Tang had "severely disrupted public order" with her "dramatic wailing and howling" in front of government buildings.
Tang's plight is typical of the daunting hardship some petitioners face in defending their rights. Yet in the eyes of many officials, she is just a troublemaker. Twelve hundred years ago, famous essayist Liu Zongyuan warned that "tyrannical government is more brutal than tigers." Media commentators argue that justice is being undermined in Yongzhou. Local governments, with their slights and suppression of public opinion, are increasingly estranged from the people.
(Editor's note: Hunan authorities are looking into Tang's case to ensure no wrong has been done.)
Six years ago, the girl, then aged 11, was abducted and forced into prostitution for three months, during which time she was gang raped and contracted venereal disease, which resulted in sterilization. Her mother risked everything to save her and bring her tormenters to justice. Had she not threatened to jump off a building, prosecutors wouldn't even have taken her case.
Eventually two of the criminals were sentenced to death and another five were given life imprisonment or long jail terms in June. On August 5, however, Yongzhou police said Tang had "severely disrupted public order" with her "dramatic wailing and howling" in front of government buildings.
Tang's plight is typical of the daunting hardship some petitioners face in defending their rights. Yet in the eyes of many officials, she is just a troublemaker. Twelve hundred years ago, famous essayist Liu Zongyuan warned that "tyrannical government is more brutal than tigers." Media commentators argue that justice is being undermined in Yongzhou. Local governments, with their slights and suppression of public opinion, are increasingly estranged from the people.
(Editor's note: Hunan authorities are looking into Tang's case to ensure no wrong has been done.)
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