According to the WeChat public account of the People's Court of Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai City, on March 19, 2024, for repeatedly violating a personal safety protection order, violently assaulting and threatening his ex-wife, the Xiangzhou Court issued a first-instance judgment against the defendant Zhang for the crime of refusing to execute a ruling, sentencing him to eight months in prison. This is the first case nationwide in which a person was sentenced by a court to criminal punishment for the crime of refusing to execute a ruling due to violating a personal safety protection order.

　　Violence That Could Not Be Escaped Even After Divorce

　　In January 2015, Xiaoli and Zhang married, and the two raised a lovely daughter together; Xiaoli even quit her job to stay at home and devote herself to caring for the family. During the marriage, the two occasionally quarreled, and Zhang occasionally beat and scolded her.

　　In April 2019, the two divorced but did not move out, and the family of three still lived under the same roof. Xiaoli found a new job, which made Zhang somewhat unhappy; he frequently checked Xiaoli's phone, even restricted her from going out to work, and physical abuse also became frequent. Unable to bear it, Xiaoli moved out with the child, and Zhang chased her to her workplace, beating, scolding, and threatening her. After several rounds, Xiaoli made up her mind and applied to the Xiangzhou Court for a personal safety protection order.

　　On October 13, 2023, the Xiangzhou Court issued a personal safety protection order: prohibiting Zhang from committing domestic violence such as beating and threatening Xiaoli; and prohibiting Zhang from harassing, stalking, or contacting Xiaoli and her daughter.

　　Ignoring the Order and Continuing the Violence

　　After the protection order was issued, Zhang did not restrain himself.

　　One day in November 2023, Zhang again went to Xiaoli's workplace and made a scene. To avoid conflict, Xiaoli left in a colleague's car, and Zhang drove after her, forced her to stop, took a baseball bat from the car, opened the door, and swung at Xiaoli, hitting her five or six times before stopping; when a colleague spoke up to stop him, the colleague was also injured.

　　Less than a month after Zhang signed for receipt of the protection order, he committed violence again. The public security organ decisively imposed a ten-day administrative detention and a fine on Zhang. After the court's stern reprimand, Zhang wrote a statement of repentance. But as soon as he regained his freedom, Zhang began threatening and intimidating again, continuously sending Xiaoli large numbers of death-threat text messages, including photos of knives and screenshots of logistics information for agricultural chemicals.

　　Xiaoli was deeply frightened and had no choice but to seek help from the court again. The Xiangzhou Court then imposed a fifteen-day judicial detention on Zhang. Considering that Zhang disregarded judicial authority, repeatedly violated the personal safety protection order, and refused to perform the prohibited matters determined by the effective ruling, the Xiangzhou Court transferred the case clues to the public security organ on suspicion of a crime, and Zhang was arrested in January 2024.

　　More Than Just a Direct Ruling

　　Zhang's case returned once again to the Xiangzhou Court, this time as a criminal case.

　　"I thought it was just family trivia; quarrels and fights between husband and wife are normal, and as for those threats, they were just hoping she would come back..." Zhang was resistant and uncomprehending.

　　After reviewing the file, the first thing the presiding judge thought of was "severe crackdown and harsh punishment." However, considering that Zhang had repeatedly ignored the court's order and that several detentions had failed to restrain his "fists and feet," rather than simply handing down a judgment, it was more necessary to make Zhang emotionally recognize and admit his mistakes and let go of the past.

　　"Predictions of whether an actor will reoffend cannot be separated from an examination of his past behavior." After carefully sorting through the case, the judge invited experts on psychological and domestic violence issues to conduct psychological assessment and counseling for Xiaoli and the child, on that basis understanding and evaluating Zhang's upbringing environment, criminal motives, and personal dangerousness.

　　To ensure that the punishment fit the offense and the responsibility, the judge twice went to the detention center to interrogate Zhang. Zhang finally shed tears of remorse and came to realize that "domestic violence is not a family matter; hitting people is wrong..."

　　Within the Home, It Is Not Outside the Law

　　On March 19, 2024, the Xiangzhou Court pronounced judgment in court against Zhang, sentencing him to eight months in prison for the crime of refusing to execute a ruling.

　　After the pronouncement, the judge conducted serious courtroom education for Zhang on the spot: "Every adult must be responsible for his own actions... Within the home, it is not outside the law. Domestic violence, even if draped in the cloak of 'family' and crowned with the name of 'love,' is in essence violence, harm, and illegal and criminal conduct... An unfortunate childhood takes a lifetime to heal. A father's face distorted by rage, and the fear of possibly losing one's mother at any time, should not be a child's childhood memories. Protecting growth with love and warmth is your responsibility as a father... After this matter, I hope you will hold awe in your heart and know where to stop. To correct one's faults in the morning and change by evening is what a gentleman does; on the contrary, if after serving your sentence you again treat the law as a joke and violate the order, you will surely be punished with an iron hand, with no tolerance!"

　　Judge's Explanation of the Law

　　A personal safety protection order has never been a flimsy piece of paper, but a weighty ruling and a solid safeguard; once issued, it must be respected and enforced. Article 12 of the Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Handling of Cases of Personal Safety Protection Orders, implemented in August 2022, clearly provides that if the respondent violates a personal safety protection order, he may be convicted and punished for the crime of refusing to execute a judgment or ruling. Zhang ignored the personal safety protection order issued by the court and repeatedly committed violence and intimidation against his ex-wife, and inevitably received severe punishment. The life of the law lies in its implementation, and the value of a ruling lies in its enforcement. Only when protection orders grow "sharp teeth" can they gnaw through the "hard bone" of domestic violence!