The final judgment on the case in which a woman with an “unpleasant face” was denied access by a bar Tuesday, ruled that the bar had infringed on the woman’s right to dignity but have not granted her compensation for mental anguish.
Gao Bin, a 24-year-old woman whose face was disfigured in a fire during her childhood, sued the Den in Beijing when its guard refused to let her in “because she looked bad” in July of last year.
The case was first heard in Beijing Chaoyang District Court. The court ruled in November of last year that the bar’s action violated Gao’s right to dignity and made her suffer mentally.
It ordered the bar to compensate Gao 4,000 yuan (US$480) for her mental anguish against her original claims of 50,000 yuan (US$6,046).
The bar appealed to a higher court, Beijing No 2 Intermediate Court. The court upheld the basic rules of the Chaoyang court but freed the bar from compensation for Gao’s mental anguish, saying the bar’s written apology would be adequate to compensate the woman.
Both sides said they were not satisfied with the final verdict. Gao said the final judgment was “far from fair” for its inadequate compensation for her mental anguish.
Shao Weixin, lawyer for the bar, criticized the verdict for the punishment on mentality which is not allowed by law. The guard asked Gao to wait outside because the bar was already crowded when she arrived, Shao said. Gao cursed the guard and called him “a dog” when she was refused entry and called the police to deal with the dispute. At the police station, the guard confessed that he thought Gao’s face was too disfigured and might frighten other guests.
The verdict said the guard’s testimony at the police station illustrated that he was prejudiced over Gao’s appearance although he did not say so in front of the woman. The lawyer said it is not right to judge over one’s idea instead of his action.
(China Daily 08/08/2001)
