In order to evade the supervision of the platform and make it impossible to identify the golden beans, Xie and others pruned the golden beans into piles without root whiskers and leaves, and even split them into several small plants for sale.
More than 3,000 golden beans were rescued urgently
Source: Procuratorial Daily
Shi Jun, Zhou Xiaofang, Zhu Qiuling
Seizured golden beans.
Recently, in the warning and education base of Jindou in the East China Medicinal Botanical Garden of Zhejiang Province, watching a number of golden beans damaged to varying degrees regain their vitality, Xu Buqian, deputy procurator general of the Jinyun County Procuratorate, sighed with emotion: "This 'great rescue' hopes to enhance more people's awareness of the protection of golden beans." ”
Trafficked, golden beans "hurt"
Golden bean is an evergreen plant that lives in the mountains of the southern part of the continent, bears fruit densely, bears fruit for a long time, and the fruit is golden yellow or orange-red when ripe, similar to kumquat. In September 2021, golden beans were listed as national second-class protected plants.
Golden beans are loved by some bonsai lovers in China. In August last year, the Jinyun County Public Security Bureau received a clue that a number of Jinyun anchors illegally sold golden beans in the live broadcast room. These streamers generally start broadcasting late at night, and most of them broadcast live in planting bases in the wilderness. After months of exploration, the police found 9 golden bean planting bases hidden in the deep mountains and dense forests, and a criminal gang led by Xie and Tao surfaced...
One day many years ago, Xie learned that golden beans were selling well, and one plant could earn hundreds of yuan, so he started a golden bean business with his friend Tao. Because wild golden beans are mainly distributed in mountainous areas in Zhejiang, Fujian and Jiangxi, Xie specially found local farmers, purchased them at a price of 5 yuan to 10 yuan per plant, and transplanted them to Jinyun's planting base for maintenance. They also hired female anchors to live stream goods on major platforms. It was not until September 2021 that Xie and others learned that golden beans were listed as national second-class protected plants, and they stopped for a while. But soon after, they returned to their old business.
According to the situation in the early stage, the police simultaneously closed the net in many townships in Jinyun County, arrested Xie, Tao and other suspects involved in the case, and seized more than 3,000 golden beans. At least one-third of these captured golden beans were damaged to varying degrees, and many were on the verge of death.
It turned out that in order to evade the supervision of the platform and make it impossible to identify the golden beans, Xie and others pruned the golden beans into piles without root whiskers and leaves, and even split them into several small plants for sale.
It was found that since the golden beans were listed as national second-class protected plants, Xie and others sold a total of tens of thousands of golden beans, with a total amount of millions of yuan.
The procuratorate recommends urging timely rescue
On December 20, 2022, the public security organ transferred the case to the procuratorate for review and prosecution. After review, the criminal prosecution department of the Jinyun County Procuratorate held that the illegal purchase, transportation, processing and sale of plants under national key protection by Xie and others constituted the crime of endangering plants under national key protection. In order to properly deal with the more than 3,000 golden beans involved in the case as soon as possible, the criminal prosecution department of the Jinyun County Procuratorate immediately transferred the clues of public interest damage to the public interest litigation prosecutor of the court.
"After a preliminary understanding of the situation, we immediately rushed to the seizure site to check the growth of golden beans." Hong Jialiang, a public interest litigation prosecutor at the Jinyun County Procuratorate, and his colleagues found that some of the golden beans' leaves had turned yellow, and if they were not dealt with in time, they would face risks of withering and dying.
On the same day, the Jinyun County Procuratorate issued a pre-litigation procuratorial recommendation to the County Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau, urging it to perform its supervision and management duties in accordance with the law and take timely rescue measures against the seized golden beans.
After receiving the inspection recommendations, Liu Xiaoliang, head of the cash crop management station of the Jinyun County Agriculture and Rural Bureau, said that the rescue of golden beans involves many issues such as maintenance capacity, maintenance costs and ownership of golden beans, and requires the joint efforts of multiple units to complete. To this end, the prosecutor asked public interest litigation volunteers with rich experience in plant protection about the growth habits of golden beans and learned about the suitable locations for receiving golden beans.
Volunteers recommended three places: Huanglong Village Scenic Area in Jinyun County, a farm in Gaizhu Village, and a state-owned base in Zhenwang Township, Qingtian County. In addition, after reviewing the information from many sources, the prosecutor learned that the East China Medicinal Botanical Garden in Lishui City also met the conditions for acceptance. The Jinyun County Procuratorate and the County Agriculture and Rural Bureau visited these places and formed a detailed inspection report for follow-up work.
Join forces to promote the "housewarming" of golden beans
On January 11 this year, the Jinyun County Procuratorate, together with the Jinyun County Public Security Bureau, the Forestry Bureau, the court and other departments, held a joint meeting on the issue of determining the place to receive golden beans. At the meeting, the Jinyun County Agriculture and Rural Bureau introduced in detail the inspection of the four sites.
"We hope to plant this batch of golden beans in Jinyun as much as possible, but a farm in Huanglong Village Scenic Area and Gaizhu Village is privately operated, and there is a high probability that there will be disputes over the ownership of golden beans in the future." Hong Waiteliang put forward his own opinions on the spot.
"Although a state-owned base in Zhenwang Township, Qingtian County, meets the planting conditions, it requires annual maintenance fees. Where the fees come from is also a question. Liu Xiaoliang also expressed his views.
After full discussion, all units agreed that the East China Medicinal Botanical Garden, jointly established by the Lishui Municipal Government and the Institute of Medicinal Plants of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, is the most capable of receiving and conserving golden beans, and it is a state-owned enterprise, which can also avoid the subsequent ownership of golden beans.
On February 21, Jinyun County Agriculture and Rural Bureau reached a custody agreement with East China Medicinal Botanical Garden and held a golden bean donation ceremony.
Jindou is saved, and the criminals are duly punished. On March 31, the Jinyun County Procuratorate prosecuted Xie and other principal criminals on suspicion of endangering plants under national key protection, and made a relative decision not to prosecute other accomplices with minor crimes. At the same time, the court made a pre-litigation announcement on the proposed criminal incidental civil public interest lawsuit, and the County Agriculture and Rural Bureau reported that the bureau had carried out consultations with Xie and others on compensation for ecological and environmental damages.
In order to further enhance the public's awareness of protecting wild plants, the Jinyun County Procuratorate and the County Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs decided to establish a warning education base in the golden bean planting area of the East China Medicinal Botanical Garden to let everyone know the precious identity of the golden bean as a "national second-class protected plant".
Wu Xiaohui, director of the East China Medicinal Botanical Garden, said that the growth of golden beans is very slow, and only some small branches will be extracted in two or three years, "We will carefully care for these golden beans and try to keep them alive." ”
The staff of the Jinyun County Agriculture and Rural Bureau also said that they will visit regularly in the future to keep abreast of the growth of golden beans.