Kissing students lose breach of privacy case against China

Kissing students lose breach of privacy case against China school

SHANGHAI (AFP) - A Chinese court has ruled against two students who sued their high school in Shanghai for breach of privacy after authorities broadcast a video of them kissing, state press reported.

The court decided that Fuxing High School had the right to monitor student behavior with hidden cameras and said the couple had embraced in a public place, the Shanghai Daily reported.

Si Weijing, the couple's attorney, argued that the school had no right to broadcast the image and that by doing so school officials had violated their right to privacy.

The school countered that Wei Gang had kissed his girlfriend publicly with some 20 other students present and therefore it had not infringed on their privacy.

"Their classmates and teachers knew they were a couple, so it can't be recognized as privacy," said Tao Xinliang, the school's attorney.

Wei and his girlfriend, who was not named, had demanded financial compensation and a public apology for the "mental anguish" they suffered after the school showed a disciplinary video that included them caught in flagrante delicto.

The now graduated couple also claimed the stress of the incident had affected their studies and resulted in poor marks on their university entrance examinations.