Payout for victim of 'flesh search'

By Li Xinran  |   2008-12-19  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

A MAN who was besieged by online criticism after his wife committed suicide because he was having an affair won a lawsuit yesterday, and was awarded 8,000-yuan (US$1,170) compensation for damage to his reputation.

The case was the country's first lawsuit triggered by a so-called "human flesh search engine," the way Netizens hunt down details about people they have read about online, and then publish the victims' private information, so others can harass them.

The Beijing Chaoyang District People's Court found Zhang Yueyi and Daqi.com were liable for violations to Wang Fei's privacy and reputation.

Wang's wife Jiang Yan jumped from a window of their 24th-floor apartment in Beijing on December 29, 2007, after she discovered her husband's affair.

Jiang had told a cyber friend the password of her private blog two days before her suicide. The blog contained Wang's personal information including the name of his company and his address. Jiang had also put a photo of Wang and the other woman on her blog.

The contents of the "death blog" were quickly posted on other sites. Another Website, "Migrant bird flying north," was set up by Jiang's schoolmate Zhang Yueyi in memory of Jiang and in order to seek "justice" for her.

Both Jiang's diaries and Zhang's Website received thousands of hits. Zhang's site was linked to several major domestic Web portals, such as Sina.com and Tianya.cn.

Many Netizens vehemently abused Wang after reading posts copied from the Websites. They then traced Wang's address and other private information, and harassed him in person.

Wang subsequently sued the portals that spread posts from the "death blog."

The court blamed Wang's affair but also said Zhang's disclosure of Wang's personal information damaged Wang's reputation.

The court ordered Zhang to delete relevant articles and photos from the Website and pay Wang 5,000-yuan compensation.

The court also ordered the operator of Daqi.com to delete one of its Web pages about °?Jiang's diaries and pay Wang 3,000-yuan compensation.

Zhang appealed at the court.

China has about 253 million Internet users.