CHAPTER 115: CHAPTER 114 HARSH SENTENCE!

According to the provisions of judicial interpretation, if the same criminal suspect commits another crime before sentencing, the offenses will either be combined for punishment at the current trial or be prosecuted and punished separately. The sentencing rules for concurrent punishment for multiple crimes apply here, meaning the prison terms and fines for the multiple offenses are aggregated. This cannot simply be treated as a case where a single act violates multiple criminal provisions. Therefore, the sentences for Jiang Lin and the other ten individuals are very likely to exceed a three-year fixed-term imprisonment and approach six years.

After leaving the court, Wang Dachui couldn’t help shaking his head and lamenting, "In this world, there really are all kinds of people—fabricating lies in court, trying to conceal criminal facts, as if the sentence for the crime of defamation isn’t long enough."

Although he specialized in civil litigation, during his university years, his professors had specifically lectured on points to be aware of during court litigation. These were painful lessons, learned through the experiences of many "senior classmates."

But when he thought about who these people were... he soon let it go. They were all trolls who blindly followed the online herd, meticulously selected from tens of millions of netizens. If the court hadn’t adjourned yesterday, he even felt that more people would have jumped out to cross the line.

「Three days later.」

Jin City Court.

Second Criminal Court.

After three consecutive days of trial and sentencing, Zhou Quanmin and the collegial panel judges had worked overtime for three days and finally reached a verdict.

BANG!

He stood up solemnly and struck the gavel. Looking down at the plaintiff, the defendants, and the public prosecutor, he spoke in a deep voice, "This series of cases, after careful deliberation and cautious sentencing by the collegial panel I lead, and based on the trial proceedings of the past four days, is now decided as follows:"

As soon as he finished speaking, the reactions from those below varied.

At the plaintiff’s table, Qin Mu and Wang Dachui’s faces showed anticipation. For them, this lengthy case was finally coming to an end.

In the gallery, Zhang Qingyuan and the other elderly attendees were whispering amongst themselves, visibly excited.

They... were finally going to see the spectacle they’d been waiting for!

Meanwhile, at the defendants’ table, the throng of defendants wore complex expressions. Liang Shuqi’s face was a mask of anxiety, nervousness, fear, and dread. The eight instigators were equally anxious and deeply regretful. Some of their legs even began to tremble.

The ultimate goal of a lawsuit... is the sentencing.

And this time... they clearly wouldn’t be acquitted. They were very likely going to jail.

At the same time, the fifty-six defendants accused of libel who were present in court all lowered their heads, staring at their toes, utterly silent. Especially Jiang Lin and the ten others who had attempted to use false evidence to escape conviction; their faces were extremely grim. They looked as if they were about to cry.

Zhang Wei, in contrast, appeared relatively calm.

These past few days, he had done everything he could.

The rest... depended on the judgment of the collegial panel.

If it weren’t for these incompetent teammates, he likely would have secured a significant sentence reduction.

BANG!

The gavel sounded again, its echo reverberating through the solemn courtroom.

Everyone stood.

Zhou Quanmin continued, "The Second Criminal Court of Jin City Court has conducted a trial lasting several days into the case of Liang Shuqi, suspected of poisoning. It has now been ascertained that Liang Shuqi did indeed commit the act of spitting into the takeout food of the plaintiff, Qin Mu."

"This act violates Article 114 of the Criminal Law and constitutes the crime of introducing hazardous substances, i.e., poisoning. The facts of this crime are clear, the chain of evidence is complete, and no doubts remain."

"The following judgment is now rendered: Liang Shuqi is convicted of the crime of poisoning and is sentenced to five years of fixed-term imprisonment and a fine of 5,000 yuan."

"Should there be any objection to this verdict, an appeal may be filed with the people’s court of the next higher level."

Below, at the defendants’ table, Liang Shuqi heard this verdict and felt as if the sky had caved in. Rendered strengthless, he collapsed to the ground.

A five-thousand-yuan fine wasn’t a big deal.

But five years of fixed-term imprisonment... plunged him into utter despair. His future seemed utterly bleak.

The chance of reconciling with his girlfriend was practically zero.

"Lawyer Zhang, didn’t you say it could be reduced? Why is it still five years?"

In his despair, he abruptly turned and glared at Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei, however, was long accustomed to being backstabbed by his ’teammates’ and remained unperturbed. He stated calmly, "If you hadn’t argued in court and insulted the judge in court, your sentence definitely wouldn’t be this long."

Liang Shuqi was instantly speechless. His expression flickered, and he wished he could slap himself several times.

Indeed. If he hadn’t lost his temper then, perhaps the outcome would have been completely different.

"Order!"

In the courtroom, after delivering the sentence, Zhou Quanmin struck the gavel again.

He continued to announce the verdicts: "Regarding the eight instigators, judgments are now rendered individually:

Liu Qiang posted comments under the video published by Liang Shuqi that instigated and induced criminal behavior, causing Liang Shuqi to commit the criminal act. The facts are clear, and the evidence is sufficient, establishing him as an instigating accomplice.

However, considering he was misled by Liang Shuqi’s video and acted out of righteous indignation, he shall be deemed an accessory and thus receive a lenient sentence according to law. Liu Qiang is convicted of the crime of poisoning and sentenced to three years of fixed-term imprisonment. He is further ordered to pay the plaintiff 3,000 yuan as compensation for emotional distress."

Hearing this, Liang Shuqi’s expression became even uglier.

If he remembered correctly... Lawyer Zhang had almost managed to have his crime classified as that of an accessory.

"Lin Lan posted comments under the video published by Liang Shuqi that instigated and induced criminal behavior, causing Liang Shuqi to commit the criminal act. The facts are clear, and the evidence is sufficient, establishing her as an instigating accomplice.

However, as she is a minor and was misled by the original video, this court, in accordance with the ’Law on the Protection of Minors,’ deems that she should be exempted from criminal punishment. Her family, school, and other relevant institutions are hereby ordered to place her under strict supervision, education, and guidance."