JIANGSU: Qiu Ziming, an internet celebrity with more than 2.5 million followers, received a jail term of eight months for defaming martyrs on Monday, in China's first such reported case since a new amendment was attached to the Criminal Law. The court held Qiu had truthfully confessed to his crime, entered a guilty plea and said in court he would never commit the crime again. On March 1, Qiu made an open apology for his misbehavior during the primetime national news broadcast on China's state broadcaster CCTV. This was the first reported case of a suspect being charged with defaming martyrs after China's top legislature added relevant clauses to the Criminal Law. These clauses came into effect on March 1, showing China's efforts to protect heroes' and martyrs' reputations, and crack down on online humiliation or insults against them.

Source: Manila Times June 01, 2021 16:30 UTC