High-speed rail mutual assault is illegal, self-defense must be within limits

Compiled from: Cover News, The Paper
 
Based on the investigation, it was determined that Yang's act of striking Wang's face with the back of his hand constituted an illegal act of assault; after being struck, Wang hit Yang's face with his palm, and despite being advised by train staff and passengers, struck Yang's face again with his palm, which constituted an illegal act of assault.

 
 

Case review
On May 2, 2023, a passenger dispute occurred in carriage 14 of train C6276 during its journey from Meishan East Station to Chengdu East Station. After receiving the report, the Chengdu Railway Public Security Department promptly launched an investigation, lawfully obtained on-site audio-visual materials, collected witness statements, party statements, and other relevant evidence, ascertained the facts of the case, and lawfully imposed administrative penalties.

 

After investigation, at 19:59 on May 2, passenger Yang Moumou (female) and her party (including three children) boarded train C6276 at Leshan Station heading to Jiangyou Station. At 20:24 on the same day, passenger Wang Moumou (female) boarded the same train at Meishan East Station heading to Chengdu East Station and sat in the seat in front of Yang Moumou. At 20:27, Wang stood up and turned around to stop the children behind from making noise, which led to an argument with Yang Moumou. Yang's companion first insulted Wang, and Wang insulted back. At 20:28 and 20:29, the train safety officer and the train conductor arrived at the scene to dissuade and mediate. During this time, Yang's companion used a mobile phone to film Wang, and Wang used her mobile phone to film Yang and the accompanying children. At 20:34:46, when Wang insulted Yang again, Yang struck Wang's face once with the back of her right hand. At 20:34:50, Wang stood up and struck Yang's face once with the palm of her left hand. Subsequently, during the dissuasion by the train conductor and nearby passengers, at 20:34:57, Wang struck Yang's face once more with the palm of her right hand.
 
After the incident, Wang reported it via 110. After accepting the case, the public security organs conducted a comprehensive and in-depth investigation. Based on the investigation, it was determined that Yang's act of striking Wang's face with the back of her hand constituted the illegal act of assaulting another person; after being struck, Wang struck Yang's face with her palm, and after being dissuaded by train staff and passengers, struck Yang's face again with her palm, which also constituted the illegal act of assaulting another person. In accordance with Article 43, Paragraph 1 of the Public Security Administration Punishments Law of the People's Republic of China, the public security organs imposed a fine of 500 yuan on Yang and a fine of 200 yuan on Wang.
 
 
Public Security Administration Punishments Law of the People's Republic of China
Article 43
Whoever assaults another person or intentionally harms another person's body shall be detained for not less than five days but not more than ten days, and shall also be fined not less than 200 yuan but not more than 500 yuan; if the circumstances are relatively minor, they shall be detained for not more than five days or fined not more than 500 yuan.
Under any of the following circumstances, a detention of not less than 10 days but not more than 15 days shall be imposed, along with a fine of not less than 500 yuan but not more than 1,000 yuan.
(1) Assaulting or harming another person in a group;
(2) Assaulting or injuring a disabled person, a pregnant woman, a person under the age of fourteen, or a person aged sixty or older;
(3) Assaulting or harming another person multiple times, or assaulting or harming multiple persons at one time.
 
 
[1] The author's perspective
Once this case was exposed, people from all walks of life debated whether Wang's counterattack was legitimate self-defense, excessive self-defense, or an illegal act. From the police report, Wang's first counterattack was not considered illegal, but after being dissuaded by others, the second slap was deemed illegal.
 
In fact, not only in this case, but in many cases in recent years, the boundaries of legitimate self-defense have been discussed, mostly in the realm of criminal cases. However, administrative laws and regulations do not actually have a concept of legitimate self-defense. The author believes that it is difficult for an ordinary person to remain calm after being slapped, so fighting back is understandable, but attacking again afterward goes beyond what is reasonable. Therefore, the current administrative penalty is considered fair. This shows that actual situations are ever-changing, while the improvement of the law is relatively slow. Thus, law enforcement and judicial personnel in practice should analyze matters more clearly to apply the law fairly and achieve ideal results.