Translation:People v Zhang Yuetang (2020)

Hedong District People’s Court Tianjin, PR China

Criminal Judgement

[2020] Jin 0102 Xing Chu No 65

Prosecution Authority: the People’s Procuratorate of Hedong District of Tianjin (the ‘Prosecution’).

The Defendant, Zhang Yuetang, former name Zhang Yaotang, male, born on 9 June 1955 in Hebei Province, Han Chinese, member of the Chinese Communist Party, bachelor’s degree, retired from the Bureau of Lower Reaches Management of the Hai River Water Resources Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources, resides at Room 102, Entrance 1, Building 9, Dibo Yayuan, Diliu Dadao Housing Estate, Hedong District, Tianjin, with household registration location at No Inner-503 of No 58 Youyi Road, Hexi District, Tianjin. On suspicion of committing the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble, the Defendant was criminally detained by the Hedong Branch of the Tianjin Public Security Bureau on 12 February 2020, and is now detained in Tianjin Hedong Detention Centre.

Defence counsel: Wu Jinjin, a lawyer with Beijing Weiheng (Tianjin) Law Firm.

On 26 February 2020, the Prosecution filed the present case with this Court by the Indictment [2020] Jin Dong Jian Erbu Xingsu No 15 against the Defendant for committing the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble. During the Examination and Prosecution stage, the Defendant signed the ‘Binding Declaration on Pleading Guilty and Accepting the Punishments’ and voluntarily agreed to the application of the corresponding procedure. Upon receipt of the case, 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 Chen Dong appeared in court on behalf of the People to present the case. The Defendant and his defence counsel appeared before the court and attended the proceedings. The trial of the case has now been concluded.

The Prosecution alleges that, between November 2013 and August 2018, the Defendant, while residing at his residence located at Room 102, Entrance 1, Building 9, Dibo Yayuan, Diliu Dadao Housing Estate, Hedong District of this city, utilised the information network to repeatedly post defamatory and abusive remarks and images that amounted to over seventy (70) pieces in total directed towards the Party, the nation, and the leaders of the Party and the state with his account on the WeChat platform that had over six hundred (600) contacts. And in February 2020, by engaging in online chattings with his WeChat contacts, the Defendant disseminated untrue remarks that defamed the prevention and control measures of the state in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Upon investigation, the Defendant was captured by the public security organ at his residence on 11 February 2020.

During the court hearing, the Defendant and his defence counsel held no objection to the facts and the name of the offence charged in the Indictment; substantiated by ‘Decision on the Distrainment of Articles’, ‘Record of the Distrainment of Articles’, ‘Inventory of Distrained Articles’, ‘Photos of Distrained Articles’, ‘Search Warrant’, ‘WeChat Screenshots’, ‘List of Accepted Evidence Materials’, ‘Household Registration Materials’, ‘Statement of Circumstances’, ‘Source of the Case and the Course of Apprehension’, ‘Certificate of Party Membership and Branch Affiliation’ of the Defendant, testimony of witnesses from Zha Ming, Gong Yadong, Liu Juan, Xiang Chifeng, Chen Dan, Liang Ning, and Li Yaqi, ‘Identification Record of Li Yaqi’, ‘Confession and Justification of the Defendant’, along with audiovisual materials, electronic data, ‘Electronic Data Examination Report’, and among other evidence, the aforesaid facts charged by the Prosecution are sufficient to establish. The facts ascertained upon trial are consistent with those charged by the Prosecution.

This Court holds that the Defendant had neglected the laws of the state and repeatedly used the information network to defame and verbally abuse the Party, the nation, and the leader of the Party and the state, which has disrupted the social order, and the circumstances were execrable. His acts thus have constituted the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble and, therefore, shall be punished according to law. The charges filed by the Prosecution are established and are thereby confirmed by this Court. Given that the Defendant has truthfully confessed to his criminal offences, voluntarily pleaded guilty, and consented to accept punishments, a lighter punishment can be given according to law. In conclusion, in accordance with Item 2 of Paragraph 1 of Article 293 and Paragraph 3 of Article 67 of The Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Court hereby rules that:

The Defendant committed the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble and is sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of eight (8) 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 12 February 2020 and ends on 11 October 2020.)

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 Tianjin 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 two (2) duplicated copies of the petition shall be submitted.