Asia

The appellant and the deceased were divorced in 2007 but continued to live as a married couple until the incident.  The appellant had a history of physical abuse. On the day of the incident, the appellant again beat the deceased with a leather belt, causing her to commit suicide. On the same day, the appellant turned himself in. The lower People’s Court held that the appellant had continuously beaten the deceased, causing her to endure physical and mental damage and commit suicide, and his actions constituted the crime of abuse.

The defendant was charged of crime of rape for raping the victim, Z. The defendant got to know Z. through wechat, a social app, three weeks before he asked her out for dinner. After Z. was drunk, the defendant took her to a hotel and had sex with her. The trial court found the defendant guilty. The defendant appealed, arguing that he and Z. were in a relationship and there was no evidence that Z. was drunk that night. He also claimed there was doubt about the examination of the sample collected from Z. and therefore it should not be used as evidence.

The defendants Yang and Li trafficked 17 Vietnamese women who were prostitutes in Vietnam to Yunnan Province, China. Yang and Li pretended to be clients and brought the women to hotels and restaurants where they kidnapped the women and transported them to China. The defendants offered the women to villagers in remote rural area of Yunnan Province, China and forced the women to marry buyers by force or threats.

Yang sued China PLA Hospital No. 458 for violation of his reproductive rights. The plaintiff alleged that his wife sought an abortion at the defendant-hospital and lied that she was unmarried. The plaintiff also alleged that the defendant did not meet its obligation to investigate Peng’s marital status and chose to believe Peng’s lie.

The plaintiff sued the defendants for infringing upon her right to employment equality.

The Act Partially Amending the Civil Code (Age of Majority), effective April 1, 2022, lowered the age of majority in Japan from 20 to 18. The reform was intended to promote the social and economic independence of young people and align Japan with international standards. As a result, individuals aged 18 and 19 are now recognized as adults under the law and may enter into legally binding contracts, such as credit card agreements or rental contracts, without parental consent.

Amendment to the Civil Code (Reform of the Presumption of Legitimacy System)

The Announcement is a regulatory document from Jiangsu Province that aims to implement measures from the Action Plan. It requires civil affairs agencies to oversee suspicious marriage registrations and report them to the police. Then, the police departments must scrutinize abnormal household registrations for human trafficking clues. Furthermore, police department directors must factor in social impact when handling cases and could be held politically accountable for inability to find evidence.

Shibuya City Ordinance for the Respect of Human Rights and the Elimination of Discrimination

The defendants Wang Chuanbao and Qu Qinchen were charged of crime of rape for repeatedly raping the victim, and crime of coercive indecency for violently digging and touching the victim's genitals. The prosecutor alleges that according to Article 25 section 1, Article 236 section 1 and Article 237 section 1 of Criminal Law of PRC, Chuanbao and Qinchen raped and molested the victim “with violence or threats”, constituting the crime of rape and coercive indecency. Chuanbao argues that he did not have sex with the victim, and all the evidences are hearsay evidence, thus is not guilty.