The judge knocked on the gavel and declared adjournment. The closed door of No. 22 Court of the Chengdu Longquanyi District Court opened, and the plaintiff Zhang Lixin and his lawyer walked out of the door.
Defendant Yao stayed on the chair in the courtroom and saw the reporters waiting outside the door. He put on a mask and asked the bailiff to protect him.
Yao is less than 40 years old, less than 1.7 meters tall, white shirt and black pants, the actual controller, legal representative, and chairman of Sichuan XX Emergency Big Data Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as an emergency company).
Zhang Lixin, 29, is more than 1.6 meters tall and wears a black dress.
When working in this company, Zhang Lixin served as Yao's assistant.
At noon on May 7, this was the sixth time the two met in court. 597 days have passed since the case was filed.
The cause of Zhang Lixin's prosecution was "sexual harassment damage liability dispute", which was accepted by the court on September 18, 2019.
According to the complaint, Zhang Lixin believed that when Yao was working with her, she sexually harassed her, and she demanded that Yao and an emergency company bear civil liability.
Zhang Lixin recorded what Yao said and submitted it as evidence.
That was on Saturday, March 2, 2019. Zhang Lixin used a device disguised as a bracelet and ankle to record the conversation with Yao at noon and late at night.
In the noon dialogue, Yao clearly put forward the requirement of "hidden rules". In the evening dialogue, Yao showed Zhang Lixin pornographic videos, poured red wine, and "did too much."
Zhang Lixin resigned a week later and reported to the police. Due to insufficient evidence, the police failed to identify Yao as suspected of a criminal offence.
Later, Zhang Lixin wrote a letter to make a report, which attracted the attention of the Sichuan Women's Federation and contacted a legal aid lawyer for her.
A lawyer who provided assistance told the Beijing News reporter that sexual assaults often occur in private moments, occur in a short period of time, and it is difficult to obtain evidence afterwards. Zhang Lixin's audio and video recordings are rare evidence.
A reporter from the Beijing News learned that there is currently no judicial case in which a compensating company should assume legal responsibility for the sexual assault of female employees by directors and executives.
"Something very excessive has happened"
It was late at night and there were no shops open.
Zhang Lixin's colleague Liu Chang is sitting on the roadside flowerbed.
Opposite him was the exit of a high-end residential area, and he was waiting for Zhang Lixin to come out.
Under the street light, Liu Chang watched the time on his phone jump from March 2, 2019 to March 3.
In the wee hours of the morning, Zhang Lixin had been in the community to look for Yao for two hours. After all, the power of the recording equipment on her body was almost exhausted.
Liu Chang called Zhang Lixin but couldn't get through, and he didn't reply when he sent WeChat. He remembered Zhang Lixin's exhortation: "If you haven't contacted you for too long, you will call the police."
"At the time, it was not clear what their situation was." Liu Chang recalled to the Beijing News reporter. He hesitated to call his boss Yao to find out the situation of the two. "I think no matter what he wants to do, I will call here. Any phone call can interrupt his behavior."
After dialing twice, Yao answered the phone.
Liu Chang reported on the project under the pretext, and the two talked for more than a minute.
"He was a little anxious over there, so he said he knew it, and soon hung up the phone."
Recalling the boss's tone, Liu Chang felt calm, but did not hear Zhang Lixin's movement in the background sound.
Seeing that it was about one o'clock in the morning, Liu Chang scanned a shared bicycle and was about to call the police station.
Before leaving, he tried to call Zhang Lixin again, and the phone was finally connected. "The master is coming, right? I'm at the gate of the community."-Zhang Lixin was walking out of the community at the time, and Yao was sending it by. She called Liu Chang's call "Cover" has become a ride-hailing online.
Zhang Lixin got into the car under Yao Mou's gaze.
After making sure that Yao walked away, she contacted Liu Chang again and asked the driver to go around to pick him up.
On May 7, 2021, Liu Chang, who was waiting outside the court, recalled that after meeting with Zhang Lixin that night, he found that the other party's expression was serious.
"Indignation", he used this word to sum up Zhang Lixin's state at the time.
According to Liu Chang’s recollection, Zhang Lixin said at the time that “something very excessive had happened” and he proposed to call the police. However, Zhang Lixin said “have not thought about it” and explained to him that her graduation certificate was remanded in the company, and her salary was repaid last month. Didn't get it.
Zhang Lixin said that after the Spring Festival holiday in 2019, she was transferred from the business position, "salary should be lower." After she expressed her protest, Yao made an appointment, "I want to discuss with me what I am suitable for and what I will do in the future. How do I get the salary?"
Zhang Lixin once served as Yao's assistant, "previously what he would say".
So she found her colleague Liu Chang to communicate and collect evidence.
Liu Chang told reporters that starting in February of this year, he had purchased portable devices and tried to record and record in the workplace. The inspiration for this was a news report that some employees of the company participated in the company’s illegal business without their knowledge. The company assumed joint and several liabilities after being investigated.
Liu Chang said that after reading the report, he recalled that Yao had sent an employee to move the landlord’s chair privately and attribute it to him. In order to protect himself, he bought recording equipment. “If something goes wrong, you can make it clear. "
The boss "interview" was recorded late at night
These audio and video equipment is made into a ring and can be bought in electronic stores on the street.
Zhang Lixin wore a "hand ring" and "foot ring".
"The bracelet can record, and the ankle can record." She said that the only bracelet that can record is borrowed from Liu Chang, and it can take two hours to fully charge.
Yao made an appointment at noon on Saturday, "physically resisted" Zhang Lixin was fifteen minutes late.
The bracelet recorded what Yao said.
These audios were stored in Liu Chang's computer after Zhang Lixin returned the bracelet.
Liu Chang provided these audios to reporters from the Beijing News.
At noon on March 2, 2019, Zhang Lixin arrived at Yao's residence in a certain community. The employees of the company often went to this residence to work overtime, so they were also regarded as working places.
The two talked for about one hour and fifteen minutes, during which Yao Mou forced Zhang Lixin several times to hug Zhang Lixin, Zhang Lixin refused to hug, and even screamed a few times.
In the recording, Yao said: "If you don't talk about feelings, it seems that your work status is only worth five or six thousand." "When you talk about feelings, I will pay you the rent. It's a matter of minutes. Do you understand?", "Women need to use men well to use men well. This is your advantage. If you understand, don't aim at me.", "I will change your state to not hurt you, not let you get pregnant, or hurt you." On the premise of a boyfriend, I am not very rubbish either."
"It's actually a kind of unspoken rule, and it's true." Yao Mou also said.
"I have love and respect for your leader, and I will repay you, and your money has come out." Yao pointed out the "model of mutual trust."
"I accept, I will come to you directly, if I don't accept, I will call you to say." Zhang Lixin said before leaving.
That night, Zhang Lixin called Yao, and at 10:30 in the evening, she agreed that Yao would pick her up by car.
"I was thinking that this matter should be made clear. Anyway, I don't accept your rules. If the salary is still reduced, I definitely don't plan to do it." Zhang Lixin told reporters that she didn't want to tear her face with her boss at the time. "Work is difficult. Look, I haven't sent the money last month."
She said that she thought at the time that Yao would not forcibly cause harm to her.
"A certain Yaozi is not tall, he is very thin, and he feels that he is not very powerful, and he can't force others."
"What I didn't expect is that no matter how weak he is, his strength is much greater than mine."
According to the recording in the bracelet, after Yao received Zhang Lixin, she immediately confiscated her work cell phone and personal cell phone, and then the two walked and chatted downstairs in the community.
At about 11:30 in the evening, Yao invited Zhang Lixin upstairs to watch a movie and told her "just eleven o'clock." Zhang Lixin asked "must go home before twelve o'clock." After she got home, she continued to talk about work "can you Solve my work problem, I feel like I am unemployed."
Yao played a pornographic video and poured red wine for Zhang Lixin.
Towards twelve o'clock, Zhang Lixin went to the toilet with excuse.
There was a vibration from the bracelet, perhaps the sound of shutting down.
Zhang Lixin said that the bracelet was turned off and could not record her subsequent call for help.
She also said that Yao turned to her and tried to have a relationship with her. Because she was wearing sweater and trousers, the other party failed. After the two calmed down for 20 minutes, Yao sent her out of the community.
Salary and red envelopes
On March 9, 2019, 7 days after this incident, Zhang Lixin completed the resignation procedures.
On the photo of the resignation registration form she provided, the reason for resignation was written "not being a person" in hand.
After that, Zhang Lixin went to the police, but because a few days had passed and there was insufficient evidence, the audio could not prove that she was forcibly molested, and the police failed to identify Yao as suspected of a criminal offence.
The investigator once pointed out that the personal red envelope exchange between Zhang Lixin and Yao made the case suspicious.
In this regard, Zhang Lixin has her own explanation.
She told reporters that this was because she only regarded personal red envelopes as salary.
"Our contract salary is only 2,000 yuan, and other performance is private transfer." She said that Yao often assigns tasks and can receive wages after completing tasks. Transfers are also privately issued by her personal or financial red envelopes.
Zhang Lixin showed the WeChat record.
The Beijing News reporter saw that during her work in an emergency company, she continued to receive WeChat transfers from both the company's financial staff and Yao.
Among them, Yao Mou transfers will appear every once in a while.
Liu Chang told reporters that he also asked Yao and the company for salary.
In May 2018, Zhang Lixin joined an emergency company controlled by Yao Ping through recruitment, as the assistant to the general manager.
She recalled that when she first entered the job, Yao promised her that she would reuse her and also paid to rent a house for her.
Zhang Lixin said that he rented a large house of 130 square meters, and Yao gave two-thirds of the rent. The reason was that he rented a large house and put secret company documents for her to take care of, so he gave Yao the house key.
Zhang Lixin said that after she reported sexual harassment, Yao once said that the two were in a romantic relationship, and she also cited Zhang Lixin's invitation to watch a movie as evidence.
In this regard, Zhang Lixin said "impossible" because she has a boyfriend.
The fact that Yao was invited to watch the movie was also because Yao invited her to dinner that day. She thanked the boss for inviting her to watch the movie.
That day, shortly after the movie ended, she contacted her boyfriend, and there was a screenshot of the chat as proof.
Zhang Lixin said that as an assistant to Yao, she had frequent personal contacts with him and had been harassed since the beginning of work. However, she had adopted an evasive attitude towards holding hands, hugging, and even worse behaviors before, and she had tolerated for the sake of work. .
A number of former employees accuse Yao of "hands and feet"
In the audio recorded by the bracelet, Yao mentioned two female employees when he was "pointing" Zhang Lixin, saying that he had bought them a house and a car.
The reporter contacted the two employees, and both of them refused to be interviewed on the phone.
In contrast, in addition to Zhang Lixin, there are other employees who identified Yao as "hands and feet."
Former female employee Xiaotong said that when she first joined the company, she discovered that Yao would reach out to rub the shoulders of female employees when they were joking with them.
"I thought he belonged to the kind of funny and casual person, so I didn't care too much."
But once, when Xiaotong was about to ask for leave, she was frightened by the "enthusiasm" of the boss.
According to her memories, her mother was ill at the time and she wanted to take time off and return to her hometown.
The company’s policy is to ask for leave and be expelled directly, so she directly found Yao, who took her to the hotel for dinner, expressed "love" to her at the dinner table, grabbed her hand in the car, and put a towel on her chest. The part in contact with the seat belt.
Xiaotong said that when she parted, Yao wanted to give her several thousand yuan in cash and asked, "Can I give you a hug?"
Xiaotong said that she was married at the time, rejected all Yao's requests, and resigned the next day.
After resigning, Yao escorted her graduation certificate and did not return it. She took her family to find him, and only took back the graduation certificate after calling the police, but found that the original graduation certificate was scribbled by Yao.
"Really, just like a child, we couldn't even think of the things he did." When it came to this, Xiaotong was still shocked.
The graduation certificate incident also left the former employee Wang Xiaomei with lingering fears.
When she joined this company three years ago, she was only 21 years old. In order to help Xiaotong, who resigned, to get her graduation certificate back, she told Xiaotong on WeChat about the office area where Yao was located. Under the table, he took out an electric shock baton and threatened her.
Wang Xiaomei said that Yao often used her hands and feet in the car, and the company's staff turnover rate was very high.
"He will start with every girl."
Former employee Liu Yuanyuan told reporters that she had been hugged by Yao and had countless verbal harassment, but she believed that "it did not cause substantial harm, so I endured it."
After she resigned, the company still owed her several months of salary.
On May 5, a reporter from the Beijing News contacted Yao by phone or text message to request an interview, but no response was received.
In the afternoon, the reporter went to the various working places disclosed by these former employees to look for Yao, but none was found.
In a residential area where Yao was supposed to live, shortly after knocking on the door, a short and thin man opened the door. When the reporter showed him his identity and intention, the man quickly closed the door and locked it with two locks.
Boss accused female employees of violating privacy
"I didn't expect to report to the police. All I wanted was to resign." Wang Xiaomei said that she knew that she had no evidence of these sexual harassment in the workplace, so she had little confidence in defending rights.
Therefore, Wang Xiaomei, Xiaotong and Liu Yuanyuan placed hope on Zhang Lixin's evidence.
After the report was unsuccessful, Zhang Lixin wrote to report Yao's sexual harassment. Several former employees also signed and decided to report jointly.
As a male, Liu Chang is also willing to prove the matter as a witness.
He told reporters that he had seen Yao pinch a female employee's bare arm, which triggered a resistive dodge of the female employee.
Zhang Lixin’s report attracted the attention of the Sichuan Women’s Federation and contacted a legal aid lawyer for her to initiate a civil lawsuit against Yao and an emergency company.
The civil complaint stated that it is a woman’s legal right not to be sexually harassed; at the same time, as a worker, she also has the right to work in a safe environment in accordance with the law.
The first defendant Yao used his power in the company to commit indecent, sexual harassment and psychological harm to female employees, and he shall be liable for tort damages.
As the employer, the second defendant, XX, not only failed to fulfill its statutory obligation to "prevent and stop sexual harassment of female employees" in accordance with the "Special Provisions on Labor Protection for Female Employees" in accordance with administrative regulations. The infringement by Yao made it possible to cause Zhang Lixin to suffer personal and mental damage, and his work ability was restricted, and he should be jointly and severally liable for compensation.
During the trial of this case, Yao once reported to the police that Zhang Lixin's recording behavior violated his privacy, but the police decided not to impose administrative punishment.
After Yao filed an unsuccessful administrative reconsideration, he filed a lawsuit against the Longquanyi District Bureau of Chengdu Public Security Bureau (hereinafter referred to as Longquanyi District Bureau) and Zhang Lixin, which accepted the case, but both trials lost.
It’s worth noting that in the final administrative judgment of the Chengdu Intermediate People’s Court, it is believed that "Yao had carried out physical contact with Zhang Lixin beyond the relationship between colleagues and Zhang Lixin" and "Zhang Lixin used the collected videos for the purpose of safeguarding his own legal rights and interests. The audio material is reported to the public security organ and a civil lawsuit is filed in the court."
Expert: Illegal audio and video recordings are not infringements
Legal experts pointed out that recording and recording illegal acts is not a tort.
"The privacy of illegal acts is strictly restricted. In order to protect one's own legal rights, to collect evidence for illegal acts without infringing on third parties, then this kind of evidence-taking rights involving personal rights can completely counter the privacy rights of the perpetrators. "Said Wu Yunfeng, a professor of criminal law at East China University of Political Science and Law.
Wu Yunfeng also pointed out that “the pre-recording of sexual harassment behavior not only does not have the problem of the so-called invasion of privacy, but it is precisely a kind of evidence collection that deserves high recognition, promotion and encouragement. Only in this way can we better combat and prevent it. sexual harassment."
He said that it is difficult to obtain evidence afterwards for sexual harassment, and it is very useful to collect evidence for verbal sexual harassment through audio and video recordings.
"This kind of audio and video is handed over to the relevant judicial departments and administrative law enforcement departments, and the way to use it is legal and compliant, because it has not been disseminated or expanded in the society."
Ma Yinxiang, an associate professor of criminal law at East China University of Political Science and Law, also pointed out that sexual harassment is instantaneous and occurs when the victim is not paying attention. When employees realize it, the harassment has been completed.
Moreover, sexual harassment is a behavior in terms of language and physical contact. Compared with the obvious traces of assault, sexual harassment cannot find objective and traceable evidence. It can only be the self-feeling of "I was sexually harassed by my boss".
It is more difficult to obtain evidence after sexual harassment.
"Generally speaking, victims who are more legally aware will supplement their evidence afterwards, such as asking the boss in a roundabout way why he did such a behavior just now, and recording the boss's acknowledgment of what he did, or providing WeChat screenshots. However, whenever the boss is vigilant, they will deny it, so that they can't produce practical evidence. The more favorable evidence is surveillance video." Ma Yinxiang said.
"So in general, women have been sexually harassed in many cases, and everyone sympathizes with them, but due to lack of evidence, there is no way to make a corresponding judgment." Ma Yinxiang also pointed out that at the same time, in judicial practice, pretending to be sexually harassed is not ruled out. Cases of extorting "benefits" from the other party.
Ma Yinxiang reminded that because sexual harassment is difficult to obtain evidence, precautions are needed. When two people are alone in the same room, be vigilant, such as opening the door or recording in advance.
"Of course, the recording may involve commercial secrets. If the content of the recording has nothing to do with sexual harassment, it needs to be deleted in time, otherwise it will affect their job prospects. If they are sexually harassed, the victim can respond in time, deliberately raising their voices or yelling at them, triggering colleagues Our concern, so that colleagues can provide circumstantial evidence." He said, but even so, only through indirect evidence that may have been sexually harassed, the judge still can not 100% rule out the possibility of staff framing.
The reporter learned that the country has incorporated the prohibition of sexual harassment and employers’ obligation to prevent and prevent sexual harassment in the workplace into the draft civil code, and the Supreme People’s Court also took the liability for sexual harassment damage as an independent civil lawsuit at the end of 2018.
But at present, there is no judicial case in which a compensating company should assume legal responsibility for the sexual assault of female employees by directors and executives.
Ma Yinxiang believes that the provisions of the "Civil Code" put forward very principled requirements. "Although it requires units to take measures to prevent sexual harassment, it does not punish those units that fail to take measures, so it lacks coerciveness."
"Currently, the society pays less attention to sexual harassment. Sexual harassment in words and actions may only be regarded as minor violations and not considered to reach a serious degree. However, everyone did not expect that for women, these behaviors are already on the personality. It’s a great insult.” He said that as the living standards of the whole society improve and people’s awareness of the protection of human dignity rights is further improved, the legislation will be followed up. Specific legislation may be introduced to target sexual harassment. Civil law The standard regulations will be more detailed.
(Zhang Lixin, Yao Mou, Liu Chang, Wang Xiaomei, Xiaotong, Liu Yuanyuan are all pseudonyms)
Beijing News reporter Yuan Suwen and intern Chen Siyu