Insulting a teacher in a WeChat group, self-inflicted maximum penalty

[4] Compiled from: Red Star News
 
On November 25, "Anping Rongmei" in Anping County, Hengshui City, Hebei Province, reported that a parent surnamed Wang argued with a class teacher in a WeChat group over their child's online class attendance, then repeatedly insulted the teacher and was administratively detained for 10 days and fined 500 yuan.

 
 

Case review
On November 23, Wang argued with the class teacher in the parent WeChat group over their child's lateness to an online class. Subsequently, Wang sent multiple voice messages with insulting language in the group, making abusive attacks that harmed the teacher's mental health and reputation, causing a negative impact.
 
Hebei Anping Middle School reposted this message on its official public account, stating that to maintain normal school education and teaching order and protect the reputation of teachers, the school immediately reported to the police. After receiving the report, Chengguan Police Station quickly launched an investigation and summoned Wang to the authorities for inquiry. Upon review, Wang admitted to insulting the teacher in the parent WeChat group. According to Article 42, Item 2 of the "Public Security Administration Punishments Law of the People's Republic of China," Wang was administratively detained for 10 days and fined 500 yuan for publicly insulting others.
 
 
Public Security Administration Punishments Law of the People's Republic of China
Article 42
Whoever commits any of the following acts shall be detained for not more than five days or fined not more than 500 yuan; if the circumstances are relatively serious, he or she shall be detained for not less than five days but not more than ten days, and may also be fined not more than 500 yuan:
……
[6] (2) Publicly insulting others or fabricating facts to slander others;
……
 
 
[1] Education Law of the People's Republic of China
Article 4
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The whole society shall respect teachers.

 
 

 
[1] The author's perspective
Once this case was reported, many netizens expressed confusion: quarreling and cursing in WeChat groups is common, so why was this incident so serious that the party involved received administrative punishment? The author believes there are two points to note in this case. First, the act of publicly insulting others; second, the identity of the insulted person being a teacher.

First, Wang's voice messages were insulting, infringing on the teacher's personal rights and reputation rights. Second, the WeChat group included many parents and teachers, not a one-on-one private space but a public setting. These insulting voice messages could be leaked by other group members through forwarding or screen recording. Due to the rapid spread of online information, this could further damage the teacher's reputation. Based on these two points, Wang's behavior violated Article 42 of the Public Security Administration Punishments Law.

According to Article 4 of the Education Law, respecting teachers is protected by national law. However, based on past cases, most infringers ended with apologies and criticism education. Why was Wang given the maximum penalty this time? Wang continuously sent voice messages insulting the teacher in the parent WeChat group, not only causing the teacher to lose face in front of students, hindering future educational work, but also damaging the teacher's image among parents and losing their trust. Wang's behavior was not merely personal insult but also affected school management and daily educational work. Such egregious conduct must be severely punished to warn the infringer and remind everyone to take legal channels to protect their legitimate rights.