Victory for plaintiff in China gay conversion case

Beijing - A Chinese psychological clinic has been ordered to pay compensation to a gay man who sued it for administering electric shocks intended to make him heterosexual.

The case brought by Yang Teng is believed to be the first in China involving so-called conversion therapy.

Lawyer Li Duilong said the Haidian District People's Court in Beijing ordered the clinic to pay $560 to compensate Yang for costs incurred in the therapy.

Li said the court also ruled that there was no need to administer shocks because homosexuality did not require treatment.

Calls to the court rang unanswered, and a person at the clinic hung up when the case was mentioned.

China declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder in 2001, although no laws outlaw discrimination against sexual minorities.