Proof should weigh more than public pressure

On June 1, a middle-aged man surnamed Lei reportedly tried to molest a young woman at a shopping mall in Yongzhou city, Hunan province. According to media reports, a young man surnamed Hu, who was accompanying the woman, alerted a guard, who checked the closed circuit television footage, which showed the man had tried to inappropriately touch not one but two women at the mall.

They called the police but before they arrived, Lei tried to flee. Hu ran after Lei and as his hand was bandaged, tried to kick Lei. He missed twice but at the third attempt, Lei tripped and fell.

The police made Lei pay the woman 300 yuan ($43.5) after which everybody left.

But five days later, the police contacted Hu to say Lei had fractured a leg because of the kick and was seeking 200,000 yuan in compensation. Hu and his family made a partial payment, but last Friday Hu was arrested on the charge of intentionally causing injury.

However, senior police officers stepped in following a public outcry. On Wednesday, the case against Hu was dropped and the whole incident is now being probed by the higher authorities.

While it is for the relevant authorities to investigate the case, a statement by the local police－"In response to the wide public attention online, we have..."－has raised eyebrows.

Does that mean that the police let Hu go because the public protested against Hu's arrest? Would Hu have still been behind bars otherwise?

One expects the police to only go by the law and act on evidence. And when they make amends it should be because they have made a mistake and not because of public pressure.

It is hoped that the Yongzhou police are more professional in the future.

- ZHANG ZHOUXIANG, CHINA DAILY