Rising personal safety protection orders show increased awareness, judge says

A man received 20 days of administrative detention and a fine in Chongqing on Thursday after his ex-girlfriend, a popular beauty vlogger, accused him of severe domestic violence and posted a related video online earlier this week.

Screenshot from the video.

Police in the city's Jiangbei district announced the punishment for the ex-boyfriend, surnamed Chen, 44, via its Sina Weibo account. They said his behavior, including assaulting He Yuhong several times from April to August, caused intentional injuries, and his threats against her on WeChat have damaged her sense of security.

The Chinese Public Security Administration Punishment Law clarifies the longest administrative detention should be 20 days.

The police also said the victim has obtained a personal safety protection order against Chen issued by the district court.

She expressed her thanks to the police on Thursday, saying she was satisfied with the investigation and the punishment that her ex-boyfriend received.

Police took up the case after He, 28, posted a 12-minute video online on Monday. In the video, she discussed five incidences of abuse she had experienced at Chen's hands since April.

The video includes surveillance footage of a man, purported to be Chen, dragging He out of an elevator in their building. It also includes interviews with two women, who claim to be his ex-wives, saying that they had also suffered from his physical abuse, threats and mental torture.

On Thursday, Beijing Xicheng District People's Court released a report on domestic disputes it has heard over the past five years and highlighted the significance of the personal safety protection order that was written into the law to aid domestic violence victims.

The law, effective in March 2016, stipulates that victims of domestic violence or those facing related risks can apply for such orders at a court, and the court should make a decision on whether to issue the order within 72 hours, or within 24 hours in cases of emergency.

A Supreme People's Court statistic showed in March that Chinese courts had issued 3,718 such orders in the first two years after the law took effect.

"The rising orders also mean that those suffering from domestic violence have increased their legal awareness," said Zhang Tao, deputy presiding judge of the court's No 2 Civil Division.

The orders contain various measures, such as prohibiting the suspects from disturbing, following or meeting applicants or their family members, and ordering suspects to move out of homes that they share with applicants.