Shanghai judges' jolly with prostitutes provokes noisy chorus of media criticism

Four judges from Shanghai's high court dined with building contractors one Sunday evening in June. They then went to a night club, sang karaoke, drank alcohol and then trooped off to visit prostitutes. They were caught on tape and exposed online by a mysterious whistle-blower on August 2.

By Tuesday, they had all been sacked.

The judges had "split values", the Guangming Daily pronounced, noting that mainland law was clear on the prohibition of prostitution, so the judges knew what they were doing was illegal.

If the judges had come face-to-face with the prostitutes in court, "they probably would have put on a stern face and unleashed harsh words", the commentary read. "But in private, they accepted their services happily."

It was "probably not the result of an accidentally slip-up, but from a belief deep down that this type of thing is normal", the piece added.

And the fact that the judges misbehaved together showed the dirty modus operandi prevalent among officialdom.