Translation:People v Sun X (2020)

Putuo District People’s Court Shanghai, PR China

Criminal Judgement

[2020] Hu 0107 Xing Chu No 1097

Prosecution Authority: the People’s Procuratorate of Putuo District of Shanghai (the ‘Prosecution’).

The Defendant, Sun X, male, born on 18 February 1969, Han Chinese, household registration location in Changzhou, Jiangsu, resides in Putuo District, Shanghai.

Defence counsel: Lu Yuting, a lawyer with Beijing Guantaozhongmao (Shanghai) Law Firm.

Defence counsel: Yang Yang, a lawyer with Beijing Guantaozhongmao (Shanghai) Law Firm.

On 13 October 2020, the Prosecution filed the present case with this Court by the Indictment [2020] Hu Pu Jian Yibu Xingsu No Z250 against the Defendant for committing the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble. This Court then applied the summary procedure in compliance with the law, appointed a single judge for the trial and adjudication and held a public hearing of this case. Assigned by the Prosecution, Prosecutor Jin X appeared in court on behalf of the People to present the case. The Defendant and his defence counsel, Lu Yuting, appeared before the court to attend the proceedings. The trial of the case has now been concluded.

The Prosecution alleges that, after being admonished by a branch of the Changzhou Public Security Bureau of Jiangsu in 2017 for spreading politically harmful information on the internet, the Defendant remained, by using his mobile phone and computer and through the internet and social software such as QQ, his long-standing engagement in sending remarks and images that contained verbal abuse towards the state leader to unspecified people in QQ groups. On 15 April 2020, the public security organ went to the residence of the Defendant and captured him therein, with instruments of crime such as laptop computer(s) and mobile phone(s) seized.

On 15 April 2020, at around 8 o’clock, the public security organ captured the Defendant. During the Examination and Prosecution stage, the Defendant confessed truthfully to the aforesaid criminal facts.

The aforesaid facts were also not contested by the Defendant and the defence counsel during the court hearing, substantiated by testimony of witnesses from Xu X, Yao X, Wang X, and Chao X, several ‘Forensic Evaluative Opinions’ provided respectively by the Shanghai Academy of Forensic Science, the Computer Forensics Institute of the Shanghai Honglian Network Technology Co, Ltd, and the Shanghai Chenxing Electronic Data Forensics Centre, a ‘Work Report’ issued by the Political Security Guard Detachment of the Changzhou Public Security Bureau, a ‘Work Report’ and the Defendant’s ‘Household Registration Materials’ issued by the public security organ, and among other evidence, are sufficient to establish.

This Court holds that the Defendant used the information network to verbally abuse the state leader, the circumstances were serious, and the social order was undermined; his acts have thus constituted the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble, and he, therefore, shall be punished according to law. The criminal facts charged by the Prosecution against the Defendant are clear, and the charges thereby are established. Given that the Defendant truthfully confessed to his criminal facts upon apprehension, a lighter punishment can be given according to law. The sentencing recommendation provided by the Prosecution can be adopted. The defence opinion raised by the defence counsel, to wit, a lighter punishment be given to the Defendant, can be adopted as well. Based on the facts, the nature, circumstances, and the degree of societal harm of the crime committed by the Defendant, and in accordance with Item 2 of Paragraph 1 of Article 293, Paragraph 3 of Article 67, and Article 64 of The Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, as well as Article 15 of The Criminal Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Court hereby rules that:

I. The Defendant committed the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble and is sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of seven (7) months;

(The term of imprisonment shall be counted from the date of execution of the judgement. Where the Defendant is detained on remand prior to the execution of the judgement, one day of such detention shall be credited as one day of the sentence, that is, the term of imprisonment begins on 15 April 2020 and ends on 14 November 2020.) and

II. The instruments of crime distrained with the case are to be confiscated according to law.

If the Defendant refuses to accept the present judgement as final and binding, a petition for appeal may be submitted through this Court or directly to the Shanghai No 2 Intermediate People’s Court within ten (10) days commencing on the day following the day of receipt of this judgement. In case of a written appeal, one (1) original copy and one (1) duplicated copy of the petition shall be submitted.

Appendix: Relevant legal provisions

I. The Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China (excerpts)

Article 293 Whoever commits any of the following acts of causing disturbances, thus disrupting public order, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years, criminal detention, or public surveillance:

(1) Beating another person at will and to a flagrant extent;

(2) Chasing, intercepting, or hurling insults to and threatening another person to a flagrant extent;

(3) Forcibly taking or demanding, wilfully damaging, destroying or occupying publicly-owned or privately-owned money or property to a serious extent; or

(4) Creating disturbances in a public place, thus causing serious disorder in the place.

…

Paragraph 3 of Article 67 A criminal suspect who truthfully confesses to his crime may be given a lighter punishment even though there is no voluntary surrender, as mentioned in the preceding two paragraphs, and may be given a mitigated punishment if any especially serious consequence is avoided for his truthful confession.

Article 64 All money and property illegally obtained by a criminal shall be recovered, or compensation shall be ordered; the lawful property of the victim shall be returned without delay; contraband and articles of the criminal’s own property that are used in the commission of the crime shall be confiscated. All the confiscated articles and fines shall be turned over to the state treasury, and no-one may misappropriate or privately dispose of them.

II. The Criminal Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China (excerpts)

Article 15 A criminal suspect or defendant who voluntarily and truthfully confesses a crime he has committed, admits the facts of the crime accused of, and is willing to accept corresponding punishment shall be allowed for leniency.