A Chinese website has been ordered to pay 20,000 yuan in
compensation by a Beijing court for publishing photographs of a
63-year-old man, diagnosed as mentally ill, dressed up like a
teenage girl.
A court in the capital's Xuanwu District also told news website
China Economic Net (www.ce.cn) to publish an apology to the man,
surnamed Zhang, on its website for ten days in a verdict released
on Monday.
The website published photos of the man wearing brightly colored
dresses and his hair in plaits two years ago under the title "The
Fair Lady of the Village" and they spread rapidly over the
Internet.
Zhang's daughter filed a lawsuit against China Economic Net
after seeing the photos, demanding an apology and 50,000 yuan in
compensation.
The judge said Zhang's "abnormal behavior" was the direct result
of his mental illness, which should not be mocked. "Instead, the
public should offer him more care and help," he said.
The website also infringed Zhang's rights to his own image by
publishing the photos without his consent, the court heard.
(Xinhua News Agency June 20, 2007)