A court with appeal

Documentary series exploring the work of judges and the compelling cases over which they preside in Hunan province proves popular online, Wang Ru reports.

A domestic violence case recently aroused a fierce online debate. The husband, surnamed Deng, struck his wife, surnamed Zhou, more than 20 times with a knife, and was sentenced to four years in prison. Some people say the punishment is not heavy enough, assuming that the injuries were serious, while others say it is in accordance with the law given the actual severity of the attack.

The discussion became heated after the broadcast of Your Honor, a 10-episode documentary about the work of judges, especially in relation to court trials and the execution of judgment, which aired recently on streaming platform Tencent Video.

Coproduced by Tencent Video and media company TVZone Media, the documentary illustrates dozens of cases tried by the people's court of Tianxin district in Changsha city, Hunan province. Crew members set cameras in the courtroom to record the process after getting permission from people in the courtroom.