A property management company and a real estate agency have been ordered to pay a woman 1 yuan ($0.16) in compensation and apologize for bringing potential tenants to her home while she was taking a shower, Pudong New Area People's Court said Tuesday.

The plaintiff, whom the court called Shi, was in the shower when four strangers entered her apartment in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, in October, a court press release said.

Shi was shocked and called the police. Police determined that the strangers were a real estate company's employees and their two clients.

Shi had hired the property management company to help her find a tenant for her apartment because she worked in Shanghai. She had given copies of her apartment keys to the company and agreed the real estate company could use them to show her apartment to interested tenants. However, she required that they get her permission in advance before bringing anyone over.

Her contract with the property management company also stated that it must get the owner's approval before showing the apartment. The property management company' Suzhou branch argued that they called Shi several times that day, but she did not answer.

In her lawsuit, Shi demanded that the three companies give her a written apology plus 1 yuan each in compensation for their transgression.

The court decided that the real estate company and the property management company's Suzhou branch had violated Shi's privacy, but ruled that its parent company was not liable in the case.