«——【Foreword】——»
In 2014, Liu Dawei bought what he considered a batch of "toy guns" from the Internet. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for smuggling.
In the courtroom, the young boy shouted angrily, "Why should I be sentenced to life, and if my gun can kill me, I will confess my crime!" His words were full of despair and anger, but could not change the court's verdict.
So, his family embarked on an appeal to try to change the unjust verdict. Did that family succeed in the end?
«——【Love for firearms·】——»
His own family's financial situation is not well-off, and his parents go out to work, and Liu Dawei often has to stay at home alone, relying on his grandparents to take care of him.
Liu Dawei has been nurtured by the family environment since he was a child, his grandfather was a hunter, and every time his grandfather brought back prey from the mountains, Liu Dawei always watched the shotgun intently. For a young boy, these guns are like a magical force that can make people strong and majestic.
Liu Dawei's love and fascination gradually extended from his grandfather's story to the world of toy guns. Whenever he saw a friend holding a realistic toy gun at the neighbor's house, he wished that his parents could buy him a toy gun, and his heart was always full of yearning, which was a boy's dream.
Liu Dawei is a native of Dazhou, Sichuan, born in 1996, because of his poor family, he has no pocket money since he was a child.
It wasn't until Liu Dawei dropped out of school that he started working in a toy factory, and this opportunity seemed to give him hope to realize his dream. But even though he works in this toy factory, he can only buy ordinary plastic toy guns, which is far from satisfying his inner desire for realism.
As time passed, he befriended a netizen who claimed to be able to provide a more realistic replica gun, and Liu Dawei was immediately attracted to it. In his heart, the replica gun is tantamount to a dream treasure, something he has always longed to have.
However, when he tried to buy these imitation guns, he found that the imitation guns were not only sold, but if he bought them, they would be bought in sets, and a complete set would cost 30,000 yuan.
This is undoubtedly a huge burden for an 18-year-old Liu Dawei. Although he has started to have his own income, he still can't afford such a high cost.
Faced with this dilemma, he had to turn to his parents for help. The parents are no strangers to their son's hobbies, and they have been trying their best to meet Liu Dawei's needs. However, this time, when the parents learned that their son wanted to buy a replica gun, they began to hesitate a little.
In the midst of family conflicts and hesitations, Liu Dawei's dream seems to have become more unattainable. However, the passion in his heart is still burning, and he is unwilling to give up his love and pursuit of firearms easily.
«——[Arrested for buying imitation guns]——»
Although his parents were surprised to spend 30,000 yuan on a toy gun. But considering that they couldn't accompany their son due to their long-term work, and Liu Dawei was the only child in the family, they still decided to support their son's preferences and handed over the money to him. In July 2014, Liu Dawei paid the money for the purchase of the imitation gun to others, and he was extremely looking forward to it at this time.
A few days later, Liu Dawei received a call from the Fujian logistics company, informing him that the courier had arrived, but he needed to come to pick it up in person.
After informing his parents without hesitation, he immediately took the train to Fujian. When he arrived at the scene full of joy, he found that what was waiting for him was not a logistics company staff but a customs anti-smuggling worker.
After customs inspection, most of the imitation guns sent from Sichuan to Fujian were found to have kinetic energy exceeding the legal standard of 1.8 joules, which is already an illegal weapon.
Liu Dawei was helpless about this, and could only explain that his original intention was to buy an imitation gun, but he did not understand that this was an illegal act.
Based on the facts and evidence, the police characterized him as a suspect in smuggling and arrested him in accordance with the law.
When the news reached Liu's parents, they were shocked and confused, wondering how their son had fallen into such a predicament. For them, this was unexpected bad news and a great blow.
«——【Final Light Sentence·】——»
Liu Dawei's case has gone through a lot of twists and turns, and finally ushered in a new turn.
His parents are desperate to fight for justice for him, and the process of their complaint is full of ups and downs and challenges, but they never give up their support and trust in their son. Through unremitting efforts and the help of finding similar cases, they finally received the attention and attention of the court.
On March 27, 2018, the Supreme People's Court approved the issue of conviction in cases of compressed gas firearms. It is emphasized that when deciding on punishment, it is necessary to comprehensively consider the suspect's cognition and criminal motive goals. This reply provides a new opportunity for Liu Dawei's case.
After investigation and comparison, the court found that Liu Dawei did not understand the danger of the imitation gun when he purchased it, and did not introduce it into society. Moreover, the conversation with the seller confirmed the veracity of the facts stated by Liu Dawei.
In the end, the court made a more just and reasonable verdict, commuting the original life sentence to seven years and three months in prison and a fine of 32,000 yuan.
For Liu Xingzhong and his wife, although this result is still heart-wrenching, at least they see the light and know that their efforts have not been in vain. Although their son has to face a long prison life, there is at least a glimmer of hope and opportunity.
«——【Conclusion】——»
Liu Dawei's 7-year imprisonment made Liu Dawei deeply aware of the seriousness of the law and social norms. Despite the difficulties and challenges he encountered, he did not give up hope for the future. While in prison, he won a reduced sentence by behaving well, eventually successfully releasing him in 2021. The experience was a painful lesson for him, but it was also an opportunity to grow and change.
Resources:
The Retrial Verdict of the "Liu Dawei Online Purchase of Imitation Guns" Case: The Sentence of Seven Years and Three Months Changed from Indefinite.The Paper.2018-12-25.
Fujian High Court will retry the case after being sentenced to life for online purchase of imitation guns.phoenix.com 2016-10-16.