Courts | Jilted wife convicted of defamation

A mainland Chinese woman has been convicted of defamation for harassing her husband and his alleged lover via text messages.
Upon discovering that her husband was cheating on her, the accused began messaging the couple with insults such as “chick,” “duck,” and “dog,” and threatened to take their lives. A former dance teacher, the accused used several different numbers to send intimidating messages, often more than ten times a day, from January to April 2013.
The husband’s alleged lover filed the complaint and appealed to the primary court to take out a restraining order on the accused. The court fined the defendant a total of MOP12,000 for intimidation and defamation.
During the proceedings, the accused appealed to the Court of Second Instance. The court charged her with defamation but refused to imprison her. The fines remained unchanged at MOP12,000 for defamation, and at MOP20,000 as compensation for the victim’s emotional damage.