Minhang prosecutors act to halt child pornography

Authorities in Shanghai's Minhang District have forced two men to destroy pornographic documents featuring minors they had obtained online.

It is the first such case in the city since China began in mid-2021 to enforce a revised minors protection law banning possession of such materials.

The district's prosecutors found Liu, a guard at a residential complex, and another man surnamed Zhao had pornographic materials involving minors, when they were charging a third man, identified only as Li.

From 2019 to last May, Li identified himself as underage at online a chatroom. After he gained the trust of four underage girls, he asked them to shoot obscene videos and send them to him.

Li was sentenced to 16 years in jail by the Minhang court last September for child molestation and selling and disseminating obscene materials for profits. Meanwhile, the prosecutors also suggested the court force Liu and Zhao to delete relevant materials.

Under the supervision of judges and prosecutors, Zhao and Liu deleted the documents they obtained from Li and promised not to spread or publish such materials on the Internet.

The prosecutors also issued a directive, which is the first in the city, to ban possession of pornographic materials involving children, to Liu's company.

Liu has been removed from his job, where he had easy access to underage children.

The district prosecutors have worked hard to protect minors in city. In November last year, they were also the city's first to suggest regulating live action role-playing and room escape games, which is popular among teenagers.

Ti Gong