Chinese portal penalised for mocking mentally ill

BEIJING: A Chinese website has been ordered to pay $2,631 in compensation for publishing photographs of a mentally challenged 63-year-old man dressed up like a teenage girl.

In its verdict released on Monday, a court in Beijing's Xuanwu District ordered news portal 'China Economic Net' to pay the compensation and also publish an apology to the man, surnamed Zhang, on its website for ten days.

The judge said Zhang's "abnormal behaviour" 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 had published photos of the man wearing colourful dresses and his hair in plaits two years ago under the title 'The Fair Lady of the Village' which spread rapidly over the Internet.

Zhang's daughter had filed a lawsuit against the portal after seeing the photos, demanding an apology and 50,000 yuan in compensation.

The website also infringed Zhang's rights to his own image by publishing the photos without his consent, the court was told.