Zhejiang court uses social media to press debtors into paying up

A court in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, has turned to social media to pressure people who deliberately ignore court judgments and refuse to pay what was ordered.

Since September, many scofflaws in the city - plus many in their business circle - have found that advertisements in their WeChat "moments" have been replaced with notices about their failure to pay, identifying them by name and revealing the amount of money owed.

So far, the Ouhai District People's Court has released 20 defaulters' names, photos, partial ID numbers and debt amounts. The blacklist targets those who are able to repay but repeatedly refuse. A total of 10.7 million yuan is owed - from 10,000 yuan up to 3.24 million yuan ($1,500 to $488,000).