Prosecution approved
Let fairness and justice come in a long time
-- Three cases in which prosecution was approved
The procuratorial and judicial considerations behind it
Twenty or thirty years ago, due to factors such as investigative techniques, some homicide cases were not solved, and the real culprits were absconding for a long time. Among them, there are people who have gone into hiding in Tibet, trying in every possible way to escape the punishment of the law, and have never repented; some have experienced a life of exile and have been living in inner torture and sincerely repenting.
The criminal law of the mainland stipulates that if the statutory maximum penalty is life imprisonment or the death penalty, if the 20-year period has elapsed, the judicial authorities will no longer prosecute it. However, in some cases, if it is deemed necessary to prosecute after 20 years, it must be reported to the Supreme People's Procuratorate for approval.
In recent years, as the judicial organs have continued to intensify their efforts to pursue fugitives and clear up the backlog of cases, some criminals who were not discovered in those years have been arrested and brought to justice one after another. If the statutory maximum sentence for the crime he is suspected of committing is life imprisonment or the death penalty, and the 20-year time limit for prosecution has passed, is it necessary to prosecute him? What are the judicial considerations on the balance of fairness and justice? These cases handled by the Supreme People's Procuratorate that have been approved for prosecution may be able to give some reference to answering the above questions.
Case 1
Murder in the city
Consolidate the evidence and successfully prosecute
On March 11, 1990, on a market day in Pingyuan Town, Yanshan County, Yunnan Province, the market was crowded with people, and Yang, who lived in Gaozhai Village, Jiayi Town, Yanshan County, got up early in the morning and came to the market to sell fish. At about 11 o'clock at noon, Ma Mouwei and two other men came to Yang Mouqing's stall to buy fish, and after asking the price, Ma Mouwei felt that the price was too high, so he smashed the fish in his hand into the basin, and Ma and Yang began to quarrel.
During the quarrel, Ma Mouwei slapped Yang Mouqing, his companion hugged Yang Mouqing's waist, and Ma Mouwei took out the dagger he carried with him and stabbed Yang Mouqing in the abdomen. Seeing that it might cause a catastrophe, the three of them hurriedly fled. Yang Mouqing was sent to the hospital, and later died after rescue efforts failed.
On March 27, 1990, the Yanshan County Public Security Bureau filed a case for investigation. But it wasn't until August 2021 that Ma Mouwei was arrested. The Yanshan County Procuratorate held that although the 20-year time limit for prosecution had passed, it should still be prosecuted, so it reported the case to the Supreme People's Procuratorate for review.
"There are two issues to consider in determining whether prosecution should be pursued. Huang Hongmin, a prosecutor from the First Procuratorate of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, explained, "The first is to check whether it can really be proved that Ma Mouwei is the real culprit in the case, and the second is to confirm whether the adverse social impact caused by the case still exists." ”
The case-handling team consulted the investigation records of the Yanshan County public security organs and the work notes of the forensic doctor, fully communicated with the public security organs, and listened to the opinions of the defense lawyers, confirming that the evidence in the case could prove that Ma Mouwei was suspected of intentional injury. However, Ma Mouwei only admitted that he had been to the scene and had a conflict with Yang Mouqing, did not admit to committing the crime, and was unwilling to compensate or compensate the victim's family, and his wife also had no intention of compensating.
When the prosecutor handling the case visited the victim's family, he met Yang Mouqing's daughter. She recounted the family's plight after her father's death: her mother remarried, and the four siblings depended on each other for their lives, mainly relying on government relief and the help of fellow villagers, and their lives were very embarrassing. The impact of this tragic incident 20 years ago on the victims' families has not been completely eliminated to this day. During the visit, the villagers also mentioned that the murder of Yang Mouqing occurred on the weekend, when there were a lot of people rushing to the market, and many people saw the scene of killing people on the street with their own eyes.
After review, the prosecutor handling the case believes that although the statute of limitations for prosecution has expired, the nature and circumstances of the crime are heinous, and the consequences are particularly serious, the criminal suspect Ma Mouwei did not admit guilt and repented after being brought into the case, the social contradictions have not been effectively resolved, and the social impact caused by the crime still exists, and it is necessary to prosecute him in accordance with the law. On May 25, 2023, the Supreme People's Procuratorate decided to approve the prosecution of Ma Mouwei. On December 14 of the same year, Ma Mouwei was sentenced to life imprisonment and deprived of political rights for life for the crime of intentional injury.
Case 2
Violence to resolve business conflicts
Prosecution allows the murderer to be severely punished
Competition in the business field is the norm, but in the case of Yu Mouwen, Xu Mouxing, and Yu Mousheng suspected of the crime of intentional injury, Yu Mouwen was robbed of his business, and conspired with others to maliciously retaliate and kill, and absconded for many years after the killing, in order to escape the pursuit and fraudulently use the identity of others, he still tried every means to quibble and refused to admit guilt after being arrested.
Yu Mouwen, Xu Mouxing and Chen Mouchun used to work at the same freight station, because Chen Mouchun contacted customers privately and robbed the freight station business, the two of them held a grudge against him and had the idea of revenge. After several verbal warnings and threats, in February 1993, Yu Mouwen, Xu Mouxing, and Yu Mousheng broke into a hotel room in Puning City, Guangdong Province, with stainless steel knives and daggers.
At this time, Chen Mouchun was negotiating business with customers. Yu Mouwen was even more angry when he saw this, he strangled Chen Mouchun's neck hard, and from time to time he used foul language, and then the three of them beat and stabbed Chen Mouchun. Chen Mouchun staggered and fled outside the hotel, but in the end he could not escape the continued slashing of the three people, and died after being sent to the hospital due to ineffective rescue. The Puning Municipal Public Security Bureau pursued Yu Mouwen, Xu Mouxing, and Yu Mousheng, and issued a notice to all localities on March 20, 1993. For many years after the notice was issued, the three suspects were never caught, and it was not until January 2022 that Yu Mouwen and Xu Mouxing were arrested and brought to justice.
The Puning Municipal Public Security Bureau believes that the facts of Yu Mouwen and Xu Mouxing's crimes are clear, the evidence is credible and sufficient, and they are suspected of constituting the crime of intentional injury, and the statutory maximum sentence is life imprisonment or death.
The prosecutor in charge of the Supreme People's Procuratorate believes that although the statute of limitations for prosecution has expired in this case, the nature and consequences of the crime are serious, the circumstances are heinous, the criminal suspect carried out slashing and stabbing in public, the criminal arrogance is extremely arrogant, and the social impact is extremely bad, and the criminal suspect fled after the incident, actively carried out acts of evading investigation, and did not compensate after being brought into the case, did not sincerely repent, and did not obtain the forgiveness of the victim's family, and recommended that the criminal suspects Yu Mouwen and Xu Mouxing be approved for prosecution. In the end, the two were sentenced to life imprisonment.
In view of the status and role of the co-defendant Yu Mousheng in the case, the prosecutor in charge of the Supreme People's Procuratorate suggested that the undertaker of the Guangdong Provincial Procuratorate strengthen the investigation supervision work and pursue Yu Mousheng. In December 2022, the Puning Municipal Procuratorate issued a "Notice of Supervision of Investigation Activities" to the Municipal Public Security Bureau, urging it to arrest Yu Mousheng as soon as possible. Because Yu Mousheng also had the behavior of "bleaching" his identity, the procuratorate proposed that face comparison technology could be used to arrest him. On June 19, 2023, Yu Mousheng was arrested and is currently being reported for approval of prosecution.
Case 3
Public hearings resolve conflicts
Give the repentant a chance to mend their ways
Prosecution is not only about sentencing the guilty, but also about resolving conflicts. In the handling of the case of Liu Moubao's approval for prosecution of the crime of intentional injury, the Supreme People's Procuratorate explained the law and reasoned by holding a public hearing to untie the knot in the hearts of the victim's family.
On April 15, 2020, the Qingcheng County Public Security Bureau in Gansu Province contacted the Pagoda Branch of the Public Security Bureau of Yan'an City, Shaanxi Province, saying that it had found Liu Moubao, a suspect in a murder case at a farmers' market 29 years ago.
On February 5, 1991, Liu Moubao came to the farmers' market in Yaodian Town, Baota District, Yan'an City to buy pork. Facing Liu Moubao's questioning, Cui Moubin kicked Liu Moubao twice without saying a word and punched him in the face. Liu Moubao was very angry and scuffled with Cui Moubin.
Seeing this, the others hurriedly stepped forward to stop them, and finally separated them. Cui Moubin glanced at Liu Moubao and turned to leave. At this time, Liu Moubao took a knife from the meat stall and chased after Cui Moubin and stabbed Cui Moubin in the back, and when Cui Moubin turned around and stabbed him twice, Cui Moubin immediately fell to the ground, and Liu Moubao fled the scene. Cui Moubin died on the way to the hospital.
After receiving clues, the Pagoda Branch of the Yan'an Municipal Public Security Bureau re-accepted the case and filed it. On April 29, 2020, criminal suspect Liu Moubao was escorted back to Yan'an. After interrogation, Liu Moubao confessed to the crime of intentionally injuring the victim Cui Moubin.
After Liu Moubao was arrested, his family raised 200,000 yuan for compensation, and hoped to come to the door to apologize to the victim's family.
On February 13, 2023, the relevant person in charge of the First Procuratorate of the Supreme People's Procuratorate led the case handling team to the Yan'an Municipal Procuratorate. After review, the Supreme People's Procuratorate Case Handling Group held that after criminal suspect Liu Moubao was beaten by Cui Moubin for no reason, he casually picked up a knife from the meat stall and stabbed Cui Moubin and caused his death, the facts of the crime were clear, the evidence was credible and sufficient, and his behavior was suspected of the crime of intentional injury, and the statutory maximum penalty was death; the victim was seriously at fault; after the case occurred, the criminal suspect Liu Moubao's relatives actively treated the victim, negotiated the victim's funeral and other related matters, and gave compensation. Criminal suspect Liu Moubao surrendered voluntarily, pleaded guilty and repented after being brought in, and actively compensated the victim's relatives.
The next day, at the public hearing of the approved prosecution of Liu Moubao's suspected crime of intentional injury, the five hearing officers unanimously agreed that the case could not be approved for prosecution after fully understanding the facts and evidence of the case.
"Based on the comprehensive review opinions, we believe that the criminal suspect has no new illegal and criminal acts, his social danger to society is small, the social impact caused by the crime has been eliminated, and there is no need to prosecute in accordance with the law, so it is recommended that the criminal suspect Liu Moubao not be approved for prosecution. The prosecutor in charge of the case told reporters.
On March 16, 2023, the Supreme People's Procuratorate decided not to approve the prosecution of Liu Moubao. After the hearing, Liu's relatives immediately paid 200,000 yuan in compensation.
Approve prosecutions, so that the guilty can be severely punished, so that the souls of the deceased can be comforted, the repentant can be given a chance to mend their ways, and the light of hope can be ignited for families in deep distress. In the new era, new journey and new starting point, the procuratorial organs will continue to uphold the basic value pursuit of "handling every case with high quality and efficiency", so that fairness and justice will be achieved even if it is far away, but it will be achieved for a long time.
Delegate Reviews
Deputy to the National People's Congress
Yang Weikun, President of Hebei University of Finance
The key to approving a prosecution is "deeming it necessary to prosecute", the core of which lies in the necessity of prosecution, which is the decisive factor in whether or not it can be approved. In the handling of the above-mentioned cases, the procuratorial organs fully implemented the criminal policy of blending leniency and severity, accurately grasped key issues such as the approval of prosecution and the lack of objective evidence, and focused on issues such as the judgment of exceeding the statute of limitations for prosecution, the determination of evasion of investigation, the necessary conditions for approving prosecution, and the evidentiary standards for approving prosecution, which can be said to be an example of "handling every case with high quality and efficiency".
As a special prosecution system, once the prosecution is approved, it will have a greater impact and occupy a certain amount of judicial resources, and the prosecution procedure is still initiated after a long period of time, and there need to be convincing enough facts and evidence to be convincing. Therefore, in the handling of approved prosecution cases, it is recommended to solve the problem of lack of objective evidence by searching for original records, work notes, and investigation involution, with the help of expert analysis and argumentation, and introducing crime scene reconstruction methods. In view of the problem of unstable confessions, it is recommended to further consolidate objective evidence and comprehensively use DNA technology and polygraph technology to improve interrogation skills, so as to build a complete evidence system. Issues such as the content of approval, the time of initiation, and the standard of proof can be further clarified and improved.
Source: Procuratorate Daily, Der Spiegel
Reporter: Shi Zhaokun
Trainee Reporter: Gao Ke
Editor: Cao Yufang Zhang Susie