CCTV joins in panning Henan court’s ‘cold-hearted’ ruling on girl, 9
A local Chinese court was “righting a wrong” by
withdrawing a ban on a nine-year-old from spending, as its original ruling deviated from legal reasoning, state-owned media said, weighing into an issue that had sparked a public outcry across the country.
At the center of the debate was the ruling handed down by the Zhengzhou Jinshui People’s Court in Henan province, which last month barred the girl from high-end spending such as rides on China’s high-speed railway, leisure travel and hotel stays.
The girl became a debt defaulter placed in administration after her father was sentenced to death when she was one year old, for the murders of her mother and maternal grandmother. The father had wanted to sell a family property and had taken a deposit of 550,000 yuan (US$84,000) from the buyer.
Following a series of court disputes, the nine-year-old girl was ordered to repay the sum to the buyer. She was subsequently blacklisted as a debt defaulter as she obviously did not have the means to settle the debt.
The case sparked an outcry, with members of the public condemning the court for its unreasonable ruling. The court this week withdrew the ban and apologized.
On Thursday, the state-owned China Central Television weighed in. It said in a commentary that while in theory, applying a consumption ban on a minor was not against the law and could be necessary in some cases, it was impossible for the girl, judging from her age and family background, to afford high-end spending in the first place.
The ban on a nine-year-old who had lost her parents showed the cold side of law, rather than compassion and sound reasoning, the commentary added.
The girl’s adopted mother said she was delighted by the retraction of the ruling, thanking “the court for bringing a ray of sunshine in this cold winter.”
The property in dispute is now in the hands of the buyer, who has been renting it out. The adopted mother said a lawyer had been appointed to handle the matter.
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