Our thanks to M for this. An extract:
The fact the case against him was so weak made it all the more astonishing: Wen Zhou’s accuser had asked to be allowed to return to study under him, which she did for a number of years after the alleged incident was claimed to have taken place. Even her parents asked Wen Zhou to accept her as a pupil again.
The charge was withdrawn in March after it emerged that the complainant had made allegations against another teacher in another country, but that no charges had been brought.
“The judge said, ‘Mr Li, you can go out of the court with your head held high and no stain on your character. You are not guilty. Case dismissed.’”
Did he feel euphoria? “I had very mixed feelings; I was overwhelmed. I wanted an apology. I felt very angry towards my accuser.”
The tragedy is that this brilliant and much-admired teacher now feels he won’t ever be able to teach again. “You have to touch children when you teach them the violin, but I feel dirty if I touch them. They could accuse me at any time. I’m not prepared to put my family at risk. Society has put me in this situation and I feel sad about that.”
