- A Chinese court ordered a woman to apologise to her husband for online posts about his affair
- The woman shared sarcastic posts revealing her husband's extramarital relationship and work details
- Her husband filed a defamation case, claiming her posts harmed his reputation
A woman in central China has been ordered by a court to apologise to her husband after she shared a sarcastic post online about his extramarital affair. The court said that even personal wrongdoing does not allow someone to harm another person's reputation, reported the South China Morning Post.
A woman named Niu Na is a resident of Henan Province, China. She stated that she had been married to her husband, Gao Fei, for more than ten years and that they have a daughter.
According to Niu, Gao Fei, who works as a team leader at a local coal mining company, had been in an illicit relationship with his married colleague, Han, for the past five years. During this time, Gao used the family's shared assets to purchase gold, cosmetics, and clothing for Han.
Enraged by this entire incident, Niu shared details about the relationship on Douyin. She mentioned Gao and Han's workplaces and used harsh and derogatory language against them. She also posted a satirical short story based on her husband's infidelity.
Following these posts, Gao Fei filed a defamation case against Niu. The court stated in its ruling that a person's moral shortcomings cannot be grounds for violating their legal rights.
The court directed Niu to publicly apologise to Gao for 15 consecutive days. The content of each apology video must be approved by the court.
Defamation is considered a civil offense in China, punishable by a public apology, a cessation of harmful activities, and compensation.
Since January 12, Niu has been sharing daily apology videos in Gao's name on Douyin.
In one video, she stated that she was extremely angry and made the wrong decision to insult him, for which she apologises.
In another video, she stated that there is true love between Gao and his girlfriend. She also stated that despite serious moral shortcomings, Gao's personal rights and reputation should be respected.
During the apology video, Niu shared several evidence related to the illicit affair. These included chat records, details related to financial transactions, and photographs showing Gao's head injuries, allegedly caused by beatings by his girlfriend's husband.
She also admitted that she should not have mocked Gao or called him a "pig."
