A Taipei high-school student and their parents were ordered to pay NT$70,000 in restitution to a classmate for posting their childhood photographs online and making fun of their appearance.
In its ruling, the Shilin District Court said that the student, surnamed Wang (王), from May to July last year posted multiple childhood photographs of the classmate and their family on Instagram.
Wang also repeatedly ridiculed the classmate’s appearance and family background, and excluded them from the class Line group, it said.
Photo: Taipei Times
Saying that Wang’s bullying had required the student to seek professional help multiple times, their parents sued Wang and their parents for NT$400,000.
The defendants argued that commenting on someone’s appearance is subjective and therefore protected by freedom of speech.
They also said that the classmate was never named and most of the comments were interrogatives, while a high schooler is unable to manipulate their peers into isolating a classmate.
The court ruled that based on the minutes of school disciplinary meetings on the matter, an apology written by Wang, and records of the classmate’s medical visits and transfer to another school, the case constitutes a major infringement on the plaintiff’s right to health.
However, it also said that Wang’s bullying was relatively minor and there were school social dynamics at play exacerbating the effect, ultimately ruling that Wang and their parents pay NT$70,000 in compensation.
The ruling can be appealed.
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