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 killed in Japan during her studies by Chen Shifeng, the ex-boyfriend of her roommate Liu Xin. 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 netizens. Netizen Tan Bin, through his Sina Weibo account "Posh-Bin," posted a series of articles and comics related to the Jiang Ge case. Jiang Qiulian believed that these comics and articles constituted insult and defamation against Jiang Ge and herself, so she filed a lawsuit against Tan Bin for insult and defamation at the Shanghai Putuo Court.
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 appealed, stating that he learned about the Jiang Ge case through Weibo in 2018, later developed a bias against Jiang Qiulian under the influence of public opinion, and followed the crowd in participating in online verbal battles. The comic series and insulting articles he posted were collected piecemeal from browsing Weibo and were not original; his defamation of Jiang Ge as a "love murder" was based on his following online discussions and expressing opinions. He now admits guilt and regrets his actions, expresses apologies to Jiang Qiulian, hopes to provide economic compensation to Jiang Qiulian, and seeks reconciliation or mediation with her, requesting the appellate court to impose a lighter sentence.
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 Second Intermediate People's Court held that after learning of the incident in which Jiang Ge was killed in Japan, Tan Bin, instead of showing sympathy, began insulting and defaming Jiang Ge and her mother Jiang Qiulian, whom he had never known, through the internet starting from 2018, publicly demeaning and damaging their personal dignity and reputation, with serious circumstances. His actions 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 defrauded donations, upon investigation, after Jiang Ge's death, Jiang Qiulian initiated a fundraising campaign through the online platform Qingchou, which, after deducting fees, raised 29 yuan. Jiang Qiulian spent over 300,000 yuan on legal fees, certification fees, translation fees, airfare, and other expenses during her rights protection efforts in Japan. Meanwhile, Jiang Qiulian also disclosed her Alipay, WeChat, and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China accounts via her Weibo to accept public donations, but she did not provide evidence of the specific amounts and expenditures of these donations. Therefore, the evidence for Jiang Qiulian's accusation that Tan Bin fabricated claims of her profiting from her daughter's death and defrauding donations was insufficient and was not upheld. However, Tan Bin should not have freely expressed opinions, speculated, or accused others online without sufficient evidence.
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 proliferation of self-media platforms such as Weibo and public accounts, everyone can easily express their thoughts online. However, this "convenience" has led to a mix of good and bad on the internet, and even cyber violence has intensified. In recent years, we have repeatedly reminded speakers that "the internet is not a lawless place," and every netizen has the right to speak 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.
