Professor denies libel for sex harassment claims

A former Peking University professor has denied charges of libel made against him by the university and a campus restaurant, which sued him for his claims that professors at the university had sexually harassed waitresses at the restaurant.

Zou Hengfu, a professor of economics at the university from 1998 until his dismissal in 2007, denied the claims during a hearing at Haidian District People's Court in Beijing on Monday.

He is accused of having damaged the image of the university and infringing its reputation.

Zou also faced accusations from Mengtaoyuan Restaurant on the university campus. The restaurant alleged that his micro-blog postings stating that waitresses had been sexually harassed by or traded sex with Peking University professors were "groundless" and have damaged the restaurant's image and affected its business.

The university and the restaurant requested Zou delete the postings and issue public apologies.

Zou's attorney denied the charges, saying Zou had no intention of damaging the reputation of the university and the restaurant.

"The comments by the defendant were mainly for supervisory purposes so that the Peking University administration and the restaurant could reinforce management," said Zou's attorney Zhu Zhengfu.

Zou once wrote on his micro blog, "Except for Zou Hengfu, there are too many obscene men at Peking University."

Zou admitted he exaggerated the truth and rephrased his words in another posting on Aug 30, saying the scandal was limited to "a small number of professors in the university".

Peking University later formed an inquiry into Zou's allegations and requested his help in the investigation. Zou allegedly refused to cooperate before the university decided to file a lawsuit against him for libel in early September.

During the court hearings, attorneys for the university said Zou's postings have been reposted more than 10,000 times and many of the comments were maliciously directed at the university.

The university's representative said the defendant was a former employee at the university and appeared to others to have very good knowledge of the university, making his allegations seems more trustworthy and causing more damage.

Zou's attorney, however, questioned whether the university is legally the right party to file the lawsuit, because "Zou only alleged that a few professors in the university were involved in the scandal. It should be those professors who file the lawsuit, rather than the university."

The restaurant alleged that Zou's false accusations have caused 65 of its 68 female staff to quit their jobs and also resulted in a decrease in the number of guests.

Jiang Langlang, a spokesman for Peking University, said the university had no further comment.

Zhu said his client only presented proof to the court of existing media reports regarding professors at the university involved in sex scandals.

He added Zou has proof of sex scandals involving more professors, but decided not to present them to the court "so that the case would not evolve into a farce."

Zou did not appear in court on Monday, as Zhu said his "outspoken nature would not benefit him in the hearing".

The court said it will announce its verdict on another day.

xuwei@chinadaily.com.cn