The first-instance trial of the Hangzhou Golden Leopard Escape Case was pronounced, and 6 people were sentenced

"Fuyang Court" WeChat public account

On the morning of November 19, 2021, the Fuyang District People's Court of Hangzhou City held a public trial in the first instance to hear the case of defendants Zhang Dequan, Ma Jinghua, Zhang Yanfeng, Han Xiang, Ding Zengquan, and Wang Guoquan in the case of a major liability accident and pronounced a verdict in court, sentencing defendant Zhang Dequan and six others to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from two years to one year and two months for the crime of major liability accidents, and pronouncing a suspended sentence.

The Fuyang District People's Court of Hangzhou City ascertained:

From the afternoon of April 18 to the morning of April 19, 2021, defendants Ding Zengquan, Han Xiang and Wang Guoquan, keepers of the Animal Management Department of Hangzhou Wildlife World Co., Ltd., successively violated operational regulations, causing three sub-adult golden leopards in the breeding farm in the beast area to pass through the unlocked passage and escape over the wall of the breeding farm. After the incident, the defendants Zhang Dequan, Ma Jinghua, Zhang Yanfeng and other company management discussed that in order to avoid the company from suffering economic and reputational losses, they decided to conceal the incident from the competent government departments and the public, and organized their own forces to search and arrest a fleeing leopard on the evening of April 21, 2021. Defendant Zhang Dequan, knowing that the fleeing leopard had entered the production and living areas of the masses and was at risk of endangering the personal safety of surrounding residents, still repeatedly summoned defendants Ma Jinghua, Zhang Yanfeng, and others for consultation, and decided to continue to conceal the incident. On the evening of May 7, 2021, after the relevant departments of public security and forestry received the alarm from the masses, they conducted an investigation and disposal, and Hangzhou Wildlife World Co., Ltd. admitted that the golden leopard had fled, which aroused widespread concern among the public, and residents in the surrounding areas panicked, and the production and living order was seriously affected. On the afternoon of May 8, a second fleeing leopard was captured. There is still one uncaptured one.

In this liability accident, defendant Zhang Dequan, as the legal representative of the company, failed to implement the safety production management duties, failed to inspect and eliminate the safety hazards in the park in a timely manner, and had the responsibility for the leadership; the defendants Ma Jinghua and Zhang Yanfeng failed to implement the safety production management duties, failed to discover and eliminate the safety hazards of the breeding farm in a timely manner, and had accident concealment behavior, and bear the management responsibility; the defendants Han Xiang, Ding Zengquan, and Wang Guoquan did not perform their post safety duties, and violated the operational regulations to cause the accident, and were directly responsible.

After the incident, each defendant voluntarily surrendered and truthfully confessed the facts of the crime.

The case was held in a pretrial conference on November 5. In today's trial, the court fully guaranteed the procedural rights of the six defendants, and the defender defended it in accordance with the law. The defendants had no objection to the facts and charges charged and voluntarily pleaded guilty and accepted punishment.

The Fuyang District People's Court of Hangzhou Held:

Defendants Zhang Dequan, Ma Jinghua, Zhang Yanfeng, Han Xiang, Ding Zengquan, and Wang Guoquan violated relevant safety management regulations in production and operation, causing serious consequences, and their conduct has constituted the crime of major liability accident. Each defendant has voluntarily surrendered and voluntarily admits guilt and accepts punishment, and is given a lenient punishment in accordance with law, and the sentencing recommendation submitted by the public prosecution organ is appropriate and adopted, so that the above judgment is made in accordance with law.

Some people's congress deputies, members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, relatives of the defendants, and mass representatives observed the trial.

Senior Editor of this issue Xing Tan