The woman threatened to be punished for "revealing her certificate"! What is the impact of "recording major demerits" on it?, Due to dissatisfaction with the barbershop service

"You wait for me to change clothes... I will definitely call the people from our brigade," said Wang, a staff member of the Agriculture and Rural Bureau in Tancheng County, Shandong, to a barber shop owner. Due to dissatisfaction with the service of the barber shop, Wang threatened to use his mobile phone to show his credentials, which has recently sparked heated discussions online.

On the evening of September 8th, the joint investigation team of Tancheng County issued a notice, imposing a serious demerit on Wang. In addition, the Agriculture and Rural Bureau of Tancheng County has been ordered to make a profound review and receive criticism for the negative impact caused by lax management of its staff.

Why did Wang receive administrative sanctions? What is the impact of "recording major demerits" on it?

A dispute broke out at the barbershop, and a woman threatened to present her credentials

This incident occurred in Tancheng County, Linyi City on August 30, 2023.

Mr. Xu, an individual who runs a barber shop, recalled to the media that around 9:30 am that day, a woman came to the shop to have her hair straightened. After washing and drying her hair, he found that her hair was too dry to straighten, so he told the woman to "come back for hair care.".

"But she insisted on straightening her hair and even showed me several ID photos on her phone," Mr. Xu said. When the woman used her phone to "show her ID," he vaguely saw a photo wearing a blue uniform.

The woman in question used her phone to present her certificate to the owner of a barber shop. Video screenshot

The surveillance video of the barber shop showed Mr. Xu saying to the woman, "Your hair is too dry to make," and the woman took out her phone and shook it at him. "I won't talk to you anymore. I'll show you my credentials, and I'll show you again." The woman said, "You wait for me to change clothes... I'll definitely call our team."

Mr. Xu claimed that the woman later reported her hair salon for "tax evasion", and the next day, tax department staff came to investigate. And its barber shop's quarterly value-added tax revenue is far below the standard of 300000 yuan, so there is no need to pay value-added tax.

Later, Mr. Xu posted relevant surveillance videos online, which attracted public attention, and the aforementioned woman was also questioned for abusing her power. After establishing a joint investigation team in Tancheng County to investigate this matter, a situation report was released on September 8th.

The above report shows that on August 30th, Wang, a staff member of the Agriculture and Rural Bureau of Tancheng County, made language threats to the owner of a hair salon during a hair salon due to dissatisfaction with the service, and subsequently called the 12345 hotline to complain. The next day, relevant law enforcement departments conducted on-site inspections after receiving complaints from the 12345 hotline. After research, Wang was given a serious demerit and the Agriculture and Rural Bureau of Tancheng County was ordered to make a profound review and receive criticism for the negative impact caused by lax management of its staff.

Lawyer: It is difficult to establish the "abuse of power" of the woman involved, and there is a basis for "recording major demerits"

The joint investigation team of Tancheng County mentioned in the notice that Wang had made a "verbal threat" to the shop owner, but did not mention details such as using a mobile phone to "prove". So, what is the basis for imposing a major demerit on Wang?

"Recording a major demerit is a type of administrative penalty," said Chen Yongfu, a lawyer from Beijing, in an interview with Pengpai News. The punishment of public officials is mainly based on laws and regulations such as the Supervision Law, the Civil Servant Law, and the Administrative Penalty Law for Public Officials.

According to relevant laws and regulations, there are six types of administrative sanctions: warning, demerit recording, major demerit recording, demotion, dismissal, and dismissal; The "period" stipulated for disciplinary action includes a warning of six months, a demerit of twelve months, a major demerit of eighteen months, and a demotion or dismissal of twenty-four months.

According to regulations, civil servants and personnel managed in accordance with the Civil Servant Law shall not be promoted to their positions, ranks, or ranks during the period of administrative sanctions. Among them, those who have been recorded with demerits, major demerits, demotions, or dismissals shall not be promoted to the salary level; Those who have been dismissed shall have their positions, ranks, ranks, and benefits reduced in accordance with regulations.

The disciplinary action taken by Wang, a staff member of the Agriculture and Rural Bureau of Tancheng County, is between a demerit and a demotion. However, the joint investigation team of Tancheng County did not disclose the specific terms on which Wang was punished in the notification.

Lawyer Chen Yongfu analyzed that as a staff member of the Agriculture and Rural Bureau of Tancheng County, Wang's illegal and irregular behavior may involve three aspects: first, whether he used his official power to threaten and intimidate the barber shop operator; Secondly, whether to go to a hair salon for a haircut during working hours and whether it is a leave of absence or absence from work; Thirdly, is it suspected of using the influence of one's position to retaliate by reporting tax evasion at a hair salon and demanding investigation?

According to Article 59 of the Civil Servants Law, civil servants shall not abuse their powers and infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of citizens, legal persons, or other organizations. Some netizens believe that Wang's threat to the owner of a barber shop by presenting a certificate constitutes "abuse of power".

"I think the issue of abuse of power is still difficult to establish," Chen Yongfu said. The woman involved, Wang, is a staff member of the Agriculture and Rural Bureau and does not have the authority to manage and punish hair salons. From the disclosed facts, it seems that she did not actually engage in any specific abuse of power. "The so-called act of showing her credentials is actually just a shaking of her phone, not even seeing her credentials clearly, let alone using her authority. As for calling 12345 to report, anyone has this right, and it has nothing to do with her authority."

Chen Yongfu believes that Wang's behavior may violate other provisions of Article 59 of the Civil Servant Law: violating professional ethics, social morality, and family virtues; Absenteeism from work; Other violations of discipline and law.

In addition, Article 40 of the Law on Administrative Punishments for Public Officials stipulates that public officials who violate social order and good customs, engage in improper behavior in public places, cause adverse effects, or engage in other serious violations of social morality shall be warned, demerited, or given a major demerit; Those with serious circumstances shall be demoted or dismissed from their positions; Those with serious circumstances shall be dismissed.