A local court in Hangzhou has released the personal information of 20 debtors who consistently refuse to respond to court orders relating to debt repayment, according to a China Youth Daily report on Tuesday.

Detailed information about the debtors included their names, ages, addresses, Identity Card numbers, amount owed and pictures. This move came after the People's Court of Jianggan District in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, found it difficult to enforce rulings requiring debtors to repay debts.

It is not the first time defaulters have been given this kind of publicity as some southern cities have already experimented with the practice. But the data disclosed by the Hangzhou court is the most complete to date. The director of the court's executive tribunal said the move will impose moral pressure by disgracing them, and the record will have a good chance of deterring potential future violators.

While revealing private information in this manner will certainly raise many eyebrows over possible infringement of privacy, the practice is in line with current laws, which stipulate that courts have the mandate to disclose such information if they deem it necessary.

Courts in China are always plagued by the process of enforcing such rulings and the Hangzhou court is no exception. According to the report, about 800 cases require immediate attention and resolution, but only 10 percent of the judgments are being responded to. Well-known enterprises like the Zhejiang Kingsea Group and some lawyers are also among the 20 defaulters publicized by the court. The total amount of arrears owed stands at about 2 million yuan (US$250,991). Kingsea Group is the biggest debtor with three debts of 677,600 yuan total (US$85,017). The longest period of arrears came from a company in Shaoxing, another city in Zhejiang, where five years have past since the court ruling came into effect. The smallest amount of arrears is 950 yuan (US$119), payment having not been received for three years.

Many defaulters were reported to have made payments to creditors soon after their misdeeds were made known to the general public. One of the 20 defaulters, only giving his surname as Wei, paid back 14,000 yuan (US$1,756.6) the day after his information appeared in the local paper. Meantime, the court received 30 calls on the second day, providing clues on defaulters' whereabouts and their financial situation.

Kingsea Group Board Chairman Chen Jinyi immediately went to the court as he got the news. He promised to fulfill the obligation set by the court rulings and agreed to use the company's vehicles as a mortgage.

For those defaulters who continue to delay after their information has been disclosed, the Hangzhou court is considering stronger moves to enforce the judgments.

(China.org.cn by Zhang Yunxing, August 24, 2006)