A Beijing court has ordered a private psychological counseling center to apologize and pay compensation to a 30-year-old homosexual man for administering electric shocks in an attempt to make him heterosexual.
Xiao Zhen, the plaintiff, said that he is very glad about the outcome as the court said the counseling center was involved in swindling by offering treatment because homosexuality is not considered a mental disease in China, the China Daily reported.
The Haidian District People's Court in Beijing ordered the psychological counseling center, Xinyu Piaoxiang, to issue an apology within 10 days on its website for a promotion that states "providing professional treatment to homosexuals" and for the so-called treatment it provided to Zhen.
The center was also ordered to pay compensation of 3,500 yuan to Zhen, who went in for treatment in February after he found the Chongqing-based counseling center through the promotions category of the search engine Baidu.
Zhen added that the one-hour therapy session, which cost him about 3,000 yuan, was a scam because the counselor first hypnotized him by asking him to imagine a gay sex scenario and then administered an electric shock to his genitals when he reached orgasm.
In August, Zhen filed a lawsuit demanding an apology and compensation from the center and from Baidu, but the court rejected his demand for an apology and compensation from Baidu recently.
Li Duilong, Zhen's lawyer, said that the ruling also set an example, so that those who have similar experiences can stand up and fight for their rights.