Don't let rumors become the final knife to dig up the dead.

Compiled from: Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court, Jufa
 
The sensational Jiang Ge case has been over for four years, but related disputes over reputation rights and other issues are still unfolding. Among them, netizen Tan Bin was sued by Jiang Qiulian for insult and defamation for posting articles and comics related to the Jiang Ge case on Weibo. This morning, the Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court publicly announced the verdict through an online trial platform.

 

 
Case review
On November 3, 2016, Jiang Ge was murdered by Chen Shifeng, the ex-boyfriend of her roommate Liu Xin, while studying in Japan. On December 20, 2017, Chen Shifeng was sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Tokyo District Court in Japan. The case attracted widespread attention and comments from internet users. Tan Bin, an internet user, published a series of articles and cartoons related to the Jiang Ge case through his Sina Weibo account “Posh-Bin”. Jiang Qiulian believed that the aforementioned cartoons and articles constituted insults and defamation against Jiang Ge and herself, and therefore filed a complaint with the Shanghai Putuo Court, accusing Tan Bin of the crimes of insult and defamation.
 
The Shanghai Putuo Court sentenced Tan Bin to one year in prison for insult and nine months for defamation, with a combined sentence of one year and six months. After the first-instance verdict, both the private prosecutor Jiang Qiulian and the defendant Tan Bin appealed to the Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court.
 
Jiang Qiulian appealed, arguing that Tan Bin fabricated facts about her profiting from her daughter's death and soliciting donations, thereby defaming her, and that the first-instance court did not recognize this and should have changed the verdict.
 
Tan Bin argued on appeal that he learned about the Jiang Ge case through Weibo in 2018, and later developed prejudice against Jiang Qiulian under the influence of public opinion, joining the online abuse trend. The cartoon series and insulting articles he posted were fragmentarily collected from Weibo browsing rather than original creations; his defamatory claim that Jiang Ge was involved in a “crime of passion” was made after reading online analyses and following the trend in expressing his views. He now pleads guilty and repents, expresses remorse to Jiang Qiulian, and hopes to provide financial compensation to her, seek reconciliation and mediation with her, and requests the second-instance court to impose a lighter punishment on him.
 
 
Relevant legal provisions
"Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China"
Article 246: Crime of Insult
Whoever publicly insults another person by violence or other methods, or fabricates facts to defame another person, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, public surveillance, or deprivation of political rights. The crime mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be handled only upon complaint, except where it seriously endangers social order or national interests. Where the act specified in the first paragraph is committed through information networks, and the victim files a complaint with the people's court but has difficulty providing evidence, the people's court may request the public security organs to provide assistance.
 
 
Opinion of the Court of Second Instance
The Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court held that after Tan Bin learned of the killing of Jiang Ge in Japan, he not only failed to show sympathy, but starting in 2018, through the internet, insulted and defamed Jiang Ge, whom he had never known, and Jiang Ge's mother, Jiang Qiulian, openly demeaning and damaging the personal dignity of others and destroying their reputation. The circumstances were serious, and his acts constituted the crimes of insult and defamation, and he should be punished for multiple crimes in accordance with the law.
 
Regarding Jiang Qiulian's claim that Tan Bin defamed her by alleging she profited from her daughter's death and fraudulently solicited donations, an investigation found that after Jiang Ge's murder, Jiang Qiulian initiated a fundraising campaign through the Tencent Gongyi platform, raising 29 yuan after deducting service fees. Jiang Qiulian spent over 300,000 yuan on legal fees, notarization fees, translation fees, airfare, and other expenses while pursuing justice in Japan. Additionally, Jiang Qiulian publicly disclosed her Alipay, WeChat, and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China account numbers via her Weibo to accept social donations, but failed to provide evidence of the specific amounts received and how those funds were spent. Therefore, Jiang Qiulian's allegation that Tan Bin fabricated claims that she profited from her daughter's death and fraudulently solicited donations, constituting defamation, lacks sufficient evidence and is not established. However, Tan Bin, absent adequate evidence, should not have arbitrarily posted speculative and accusatory remarks about others online.
 
In summary, the Shanghai Second Intermediate People's Court ruled to dismiss the appeals of Jiang Qiulian and Tan Bin and uphold the original judgment.

 

 
[1] The author's perspective
With the widespread use of self-media platforms such as Weibo and WeChat Official Accounts, everyone can easily express their thoughts online. It is precisely this “convenience” that has led to a mixed bag of content on the internet, and even increasingly severe cyberbullying. In recent years, we have constantly reminded speakers that “the internet is not a lawless place.” Every netizen has the right to speak out, but also the obligation to comply with relevant laws and regulations.
 
In this case, Tan Bin's act of spreading rumors online has infringed upon the legitimate rights and interests of others, and precisely because his improper conduct constitutes a crime, he must ultimately bear the corresponding criminal responsibility.
 
People say the knife in a thug's hand is terrifying, but in the chaotic online world, the words of the ignorant are no less a blade—must we inflict the final cut on a corpse? Perhaps we are not the ones spreading rumors, perhaps we are not the ones harboring malicious suspicions, perhaps as individuals our voices carry little weight, but please refrain from believing or spreading rumors, do not fuel the fire for evil forces, and only add a ray of sunshine to create a green and peaceful online environment.