Editorials

Op-Ed Contributors

Chinese Press

Columnists

LETTERS

Games police play with girls

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-06-10 07:58

Police authorities in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, have postponed a news conference on the "prostitution case" involving two primary school students aged 13 and 15, who were both virgins. Their lawyer said over the weekend that the prosecution was asking for another hospital test of their virginity, a demand strongly opposed by the parents of the girls. An article in the Yangtze Evening News condemned the ridiculous logic behind the police request. Excerpts:

What a ridiculous demand. Didn't the local police tell the media after the incident that "no (evidence of) sexual activity" was detected when police arrested the two girls together with their parents and relatives? Didn't they say the police had no direct proof suggesting prostitution, which led to the release of all of them? The two girls have already undergone a forensic test in a hospital to prove their virginity. Is the evidence still not clear enough?

On June 4, the Kunming Public Security Bureau told the media that investigations pointed to police brutality during enforcement of law. If so, why not go ahead and punish those who have violated the law and regulations?

Yet strangely, instead of heeding the public call to settle the case, the authorities are demanding re-examination of the girls.

According to the perverse logic of the prosecution, if the girls are found to be not virgins, then they are prostitutes. By this logic, how many prostitutes would China have? How absurd.

It shows that the people who started the trouble do not want to acknowledge their mistake. We need to deal with this farce seriously, and see that the villains get their due punishment.

(China Daily 06/10/2009 page8)