Two incidents that happened recently have caused a sensation across the country.

On May 10, three government workers of Yesanguan township in Badong county, Hubei province, visited an entertainment venue and asked for "special service" from a waitress. When the girl refused, one of the three men - an official - hit her on her head with a wad of money saying "Think I don't have enough money?" while another man said providing special service was her job. The girl argued against the humiliation and tried twice to leave the room but the official pushed her back on the sofa. The girl took up a knife to stab the official to death and injured the other man before surrendering to the police.

The media reports about the event soon caught nationwide attention and the number of online comments reached hundreds of thousands in just a few days. Ninety-nine percent of the comments expressed sympathy for the girl. Many appealed for lenient treatment for her; some even claimed she was innocent and called her "a heroine against rapists." The latest statement announced by the local police, however, differed greatly from the media reports and was so carefully couched that the officials appeared not that guilty.

The other event took place in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on May 8, when a speeding car hit and killed a pedestrian at the zebra crossing. The driver was suspected to be racing with fellow young drivers, all believed to be children of rich families. Photos posted online showed the indifference of the driver and his friends at the scene of the accident. Their attitude aroused public anger, which was further fueled by a police statement announcing that the speed of the car was 70 km per hour, 20 km above the limit. Witnesses said the speed must be much higher for the pedestrian had been thrown 5 meters in the air and 20 meters away from the car. The police later changed their statement about the speed but their decision that the driver would be charged with "causing traffic disturbances" rather than "endangering public security" caused more public outcry.

In both cases, the authorities' attitude differed from the public sentiment. Of course, the authorities should be cautious in stating the facts and the cases should be tried by courts before the nature of the incidents are determined. But the authorities should take public sentiment seriously and reflect on why the public were so unanimous in their judgment of the events.

The public sympathized with the waitress in the Hubei case because of, I assume, at least two reasons. First, the Yesanguan township official and his colleagues did intend to force the girl to have sex with them and insulted her before he was killed. The public thought the girl was defending herself. Second, there had recently been quite a number of reports of government officials violating women. For instance, in the "child prostitution" case in Xishui, Guizhou province, a few government workers were involved in forcing underage girls into sex. And media revelation of officials visiting brothels seems to have never ended.

In the Hangzhou case, the public hoped to charge the suspect with a more severe crime because of, also, two reasons. First, the suspect's and his friends' action of racing on streets has caused danger to the public. Second, wealthy people violating laws and escaping punishment by spending money has become quite common in many places. The public strongly resent dirty deals between power and wealth.

In both cases, public opinion may not be totally reasonable and may have been influenced by intuition. But they are not without reason. Legal authorities should be very careful when investigating the facts and giving a verdict. Any inaccurate conclusion about the facts and incorrect verdict may infuriate the public. They are watching and waiting for the result.

(China Daily May 20, 2009)