The law doesn't punish the masses. Incarcerating everyone involved... well, that's a bit unrealistic.
And "Daily English Study" was the one who started all this. You could say... he was the main instigator in this cyberbullying incident. He'd made several comments in the forum, inciting conflict, attacking, and slandering Mr. Li. He even doxxed Mr. Li, posting his personal information online for anyone to hurl abuse at. Therefore, Qin Mu planned to make an example of "Daily English Study" as a warning to everyone else involved in the cyberbullying.
You can be careless about what you eat, but not about what you say!
After hearing Qin Mu's words, Wang Dachui's mouth twitched. Then, following Qin Mu's logic, he began to analyze it seriously.
"To be honest, this is an online speech dispute. Even if you reported him, the most he'd get is administrative detention for a day or two before being released."
"With the internet nowadays, these kinds of online verbal disputes and cyberbullying are common, but they're hard to handle effectively."
Many people have taken these things seriously before, reporting the person on the other end of the internet connection. But... even if the report was accepted and the person identified, if there wasn't a significant impact, they'd face an administrative penalty at most. A fine of several hundred yuan. Most of the time, a simple warning is all they get; detention isn't even required.
That's why online trolls are so rampant and cyberbullying is so frequent these days. They get the satisfaction of mouthing off with almost no consequences.
"For something like this, why not just delete his comments and block him?" Wang Dachui looked at Qin Mu and continued to advise.
In his view, something like this wouldn't even be grounds for a lawsuit or a formal case. If you reported it to the police station, they'd just get a simple warning. It's a slap on the wrist, really. A lot of effort for no real result, completely pointless.
However... Qin Mu wasn't willing to give up.
He offered a new angle, saying, "Reporting improper online speech might not do much, but... what if we report him for defamation?"
At that, Wang Dachui froze, momentarily stunned.
Qin Mu continued, "In his comments, he slandered Mr. Li, accused him of chasing clout, exposed his personal information, and incited other netizens to attack him."
"I believe these actions should constitute defamation, right?"
Before seeking out Wang Dachui, he had specifically researched what could be done about the other party.
Simple cyberbullying or verbal disputes would only be a minor annoyance to the culprit. But once it involved defamation... the consequences would be different.
Like fraud, it also constitutes a criminal offense!
"Defamation?" Wang Dachui blinked. Listening to Qin Mu's explanation, the criminal law articles regarding defamation quickly surfaced in his mind.
As a lawyer, these common criminal law articles were required to be memorized thoroughly.
Defamation has three essential elements. First, the target of the offense must be an individual's personal dignity and right to reputation. Second, the perpetrator must have fabricated and disseminated false information sufficiently damaging to another person's dignity or reputation, and the circumstances must be serious. Third, it must be intentional. This means they were aware that the information they were spreading was false and could damage someone's reputation, and they understood the harmful consequences of their actions, yet they proceeded anyway.
It seems... perhaps... maybe... he really did commit this crime.
After comparing and carefully weighing the facts, Wang Dachui couldn't help but swallow.
First, "Daily English Study" doxxed Mr. Li, constantly attacked his character, and violated his rights to reputation and privacy.
Second, without knowing the truth, he fabricated false information, claiming Mr. Li was merely chasing clout, and incited other netizens to attack him.
Lastly, this "Daily English Study" was definitely doing it intentionally. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so active in the comments section, even arguing with netizens who had reasonable views.
Furthermore, if false information online gets 5,000 views or is reposted 500 times, it's considered a serious offense. A case can definitely be filed!
The sentence for defamation is generally less than three years.
This differed from administrative penalties. The latter wouldn't affect future employment and involved comparatively light punishment. The former, however, was a crime and would result in a lifelong criminal record.
I can confirm that the other party has indeed committed defamation.
Thinking this, Wang Dachui took a deep breath and looked at Qin Mu again.
He said seriously, "However, defamation is a complainant-dependent crime. If no complaint is made, nothing will happen. You need to take Mr. Li to the police station to file a report personally."
Defamation is different from crimes like fraud because it targets an individual. If the victim doesn't care, the offender doesn't need to be punished. That's why the victim has to report it personally.
Upon hearing this, Qin Mu nodded. Then, before lunch, he found Li Weiguo in the cafeteria, about to eat.
"Mr. Li, hold off on lunch. Something big has happened."
Li Weiguo was stunned for a moment. "What happened?"
"Someone's been cussing you out! Really badly." As Qin Mu spoke, he took out his phone and opened the video.
After watching, Li Weiguo trembled with anger, his face flushing red. He'd just started to recover from Yang Minghui's case. He never expected... to be cursed out again just a day later. And this time, it wasn't just one or two people, but a whole mob of them. A quick glance at the comments section showed hundreds of people attacking him.
The sight of the food before him made him instantly lose his appetite, and he shot to his feet.
"Mr. Li, where are you going?" Qin Mu was also taken aback and couldn't help but grab Li Weiguo.
Li Weiguo snorted coldly. He said irritably, "I'm going to find Xiao Wang and have him help me sue these people who are slandering me!"
After what happened with Yang Minghui and the others, he'd gradually realized that being too much of a nice guy just gets you bullied. When necessary... you have to sue!
Seeing this, Qin Mu quickly held onto him and said, "I have already talked to Wang Dachui, and he told us to go directly to the police station."
Afterwards, he briefly explained the situation.
Hearing this, Li Weiguo didn't say another word. He immediately gathered his things, ready to go out with Qin Mu.
Before leaving, he made sure to ask, "By the way, quite a few people are slandering me this time. Are we suing all of them, or just a few dozen?"
Qin Mu's mouth twitched. Sue them all? Good grief. If we tried to sue all of them... the police station might just blacklist us.
「At one in the afternoon.」
Qin Mu and Li Weiguo entered the Jin City Police Station. They happened to meet the chief, Shen Dao.
"What brings you two here again in the middle of the day?" Shen Dao was quite surprised and couldn't help but ask, "Are you here to see Yang Minghui and the others?"
He was the one who personally led the team to arrest Yang Minghui and the other two after the trial yesterday. That's how he'd met Qin Mu and Li Weiguo. The three were currently still in temporary detention at the police station; they hadn't been transferred to prison to serve their sentences yet.
Just as Qin Mu was about to speak, Li Weiguo, still fuming, boomed, "We're not here to see anyone; we're here to press charges!"