Rape victim's mother wins labor camp lawsuit

A high court in central China's Hunan Province has ruled in favor of a rape victim's mother who sued a local authority for putting her in a labor camp.

The Hunan Provincial Higher People's Court on Monday ordered the Yongzhou municipal reeducation through labor commission to pay Tang Hui 2,641.15 yuan (about 428 U.S. dollars) for infringing upon her personal freedom and causing psychological damage.

But the higher court did not meet Tang's other demand for a written apology as the legal representative of the defendant had expressed its apology orally during the second trial held on July 2.

The mother appealed to the higher people's court in April after the Yongzhou Intermediate People's Court denied her request for an apology and compensation from the reeducation through labor commission.

Tang was put into the labor camp after she publicly petitioned for harsher punishments for those found guilty of raping her daughter and forcing her into prostitution.

Tang's acts were illegal and should undertake some legal responsibility, but to put her on a reeducation program was obviously improper, said the higher court.

Tang said she was relatively "satisfied" with the results but regretted that her demand for a written apology was refused.

The decision of the provincial higher people's court to cancel the first instance verdict "gave me back justice," she said.

"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 sentence.

Jiang Jianxiang, legal representative for the reeducation through labor commission of Yongzhou and head of the Yongzhou municipal public security bureau, said it would obey the verdict and hoped Tang could resume her life.

Xu Liping, lawyer for Tang, said he had some reservations on the final verdict, although the results were acceptable to Tang and a late consolation to her.

The partial victory, however, won applause from experts and netizens.

"To Tang Hui, this might be only a late consolation. But to China's march toward rule of law, this unquestionably is a huge step," said Ni Hongtao, a professor of law with Xiangtan University.

Ni, who has been following the case, said the final verdict let people see the power of justice and the ability to correct wrongs of judicial authorities.

Many microbloggers also hailed the victory.

"Tang Hui's lawsuit win is a leap forward for China's rule of law and more a victory for the rights of the average citizen," said a netizen under the name of "Shenqingdewangni" on the popular microblogging site Sina Weibo.

"Justice may come late, but it won't be absent," wrote "Xu Guifeng" on Sina Weibo.

In October 2006, Tang's then 11-year-old daughter was raped and then forced into prostitution. She was rescued on Dec. 30, 2006. In Tang's daughter case, the same higher court sentenced in a final verdict two defendants to death, four to life in prison and one to 15 years on June 5 last year.

However, 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 Aug. 2, 2012.

She was sentenced to 18 months in the camp, but was released eight days later amid a public outcry urging her release.

On Jan. 22, Tang filed a lawsuit at the Intermediate People's Court in Yongzhou in which she asked for 2,463.85 yuan in compensation.

On April 12, the court ruled that Tang was not entitled to the compensation she requested. She then appealed.

Reeducation through labor, known as "laojiao" in Chinese, allows police to detain people for up to four years without an open trial. In recent years, the practice has been widely questioned. Experts have argued that it contradicts high-level laws.

Ma Huaide, vice president of China University of Political Science and Law, said that Tang's case prompted the general public to reexamine the reeducation through labor system and thus directly pushed forward its reform.

In January, China said it would reform the controversial "laojiao" program.

In February, southwest China's Yunnan Province said it had partially suspended the much-disputed "laojiao" system. South China's Guangdong Province also announced in January it would end the system.