BEIJING, Dec. 18 (Chinese media) -- A Chinese Web site and a
netizen were ordered by the People's Court in Beijing Thursday to compensate the
plaintiff in China's first case on Renrou Search Engine that launched a "virtual
lynching" by netizens who search for and reveal targets' private information.
The defendants, Daqi.com, Tianya.com and a netizen
named Zhang Leyi, who established orionchris.cn, were sued by Wang Fei for
posting his deceased wife's blog. His wife, Jiang Yan, killed herself after
discovering her husband was having an affair.
The personal blog recorded the two-months preceding
Jiang Yan's suicide. The blog revealed the real name and addresses of Wang Fei,
which triggered many netizens to publicly harass Wang and his family
Daqi.com and Zhang Leyi were ordered to compensate
Wang 3,000 yuan (about 441 U.S. dollars) and 5,000 yuan (about 735 U.S. dollars)
respectively for emotional duress. Tianya.com was not ordered to pay damages
because it tried to control the situation by deleting information related to
Wang, the judge of the court said.
Wang said that he had lost his company job after
netizens called his office to tell the story to his colleagues. He says they
posted obscenities on the doors of his parents' apartment, and that the media
reported his story in a "negative way."
"It has seriously hampered my normal life," Wang
said.
Jiang Yan closed her blog two months before she died
in December 2007. Prior to her death, she gave her password to an online friend.
Her sister, Jiang Hong, got the password from the friend after she died and
posted her sister's "Death Blog" on Tianya.com.
The blog spread from one Web site to another and
triggered a series of debates over the cause of Jiang's death and the betrayal
of her husband.
Netizens launched a massive search on Renrou
(literally "human flesh") Search Engine and discovered Want's address and phone
number. Vigilant netizens then "avenged" Wang's wife with personal attacks
against Wang on the internet. Wang Fei said he was a victim of Renrou Search.
Zhang Leyi, a college mate of Jiang Yan, established
orionchris.cn in January when he learned Jiang's death. This spurred a massive
"Renrou Search" for more information about the couple's private life.
Daqi.com made the blog the focus of a special Web
page, It revealed the real names of the couple and Wang's mistress, photos of
Wang Fei and his new spouse and the curse words written on Wang's home on
January 14 2008.
Wang confessed the love affair during the trial.
The judge said Chinese law of marriage prescribes
that couples be faithful to each other. Wang's behavior not only broke the law
but also offended the moral standard of the society -- as Jiang Yan's sorrow was
evident in her blog.
But the behavior of Daqi.com invaded Wang's privacy
by revealing his personal information. The Web page was an ordinary news report
but the names of the involved parties and other private information should have
been withheld, the judge said.
The case would be a standard for future virtual
lynching cases, the judge said.
Renrou Search sometimes offers a service of justice
for the society, said a netizen who identified herself as Ayawawa. She said she
had joined the search to seek revenge against the man who betrayed his wife.
A friend of Wang's who identified himself as Jia said
that the Renrou Search was "online violence."
The Renrou Search Engine sprouted in recent years,
said Yule, head of the Renrou Search section of Mop.com. The Mop standardized
its Renrou search to try to encourage netizens to do good things with the search
-- for example, helping families find missing relatives, Yule said.
The Renrou Search did not promote "online violence",
he said.
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