According to the Yangcheng Evening News, on April 19, 2024, the Xiangqiao District People's Court of Chaozhou City, Guangdong Province publicly announced the verdict on the retrial of Li Siqiang's robbery case in accordance with the law.
The court held that the facts of Li Siqiang's finding of robbery were unclear and the evidence was insufficient, and revoked the (2007) Long Xing Chu Zi No. 256 Criminal Judgment and the (2007) Long Xing Chu Zi No. 256-1 Criminal Judgment of the Longhu District People's Court of Shantou City, Guangdong Province, and declared Li Siqiang not guilty.
After the verdict is announced, the presiding judge informs the complainant in court that he may apply for state compensation in accordance with law.
Previously reported
According to previous media reports, the case file materials show that in 2007, Li Siqiang, an intellectually disabled native of Lixin, Anhui Province, was seized by the Nanjing Jianye police who were conducting a temporary resident inspection while working in Nanjing. Li Siqiang was arrested because he had an ID card of "Liu Xiwen," a fugitive in the robbery case, and was later sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison by the Longhu District Court of Shantou City, Guangdong Province, in the capacity of "Liu Xiwen."
Photo of Li Siqiang before his death. Source: Cover News, courtesy of the interviewee
In 2009, after discovering that there was a problem with the identity of "Liu Xiwen", the People's Procuratorate of Longhu District, Shantou City, Guangdong Province, interrogated him, and concluded that Li Siqiang borrowed "Liu Xiwen's" ID card to impersonate "Liu Xiwen" to commit the crime. After that, the name of the defendant in the case, "Liu Xiwen", was changed to "Li Siqiang".
During his sentence, Li Siqiang was commuted twice for his good behavior, with a total of 3 years and 3 months in prison. In 2016, Li Siqiang was released from prison and returned to his hometown, and his family learned about his detailed experience.
Li Siqiang's elder brother, Li Kuixing, believes that during the time period of the robbery, Li Siqiang was in his village in Lixin, Anhui Province, not in Shantou, Guangdong, where the crime occurred, and decided to help him appeal. Two months after being released from prison, Li Siqiang fell seriously ill and died.
On October 28, 2016, Li Kuixing submitted a complaint to the Longhu District Court of Shantou City, Guangdong Province, arguing that the facts of the verdict that Li Siqiang was a robber were unclear, the evidence was insufficient, and that the criminal verdict used to change his name was unlawful.
On March 28, 2017, the Shantou Longhu District People's Court replied, holding that when Li Siqiang was arrested, he had Liu Xiwen's ID card on him, and the photo on his ID card was similar to his own, and that he continued to impersonate "Liu Xiwen" during the interrogation by the public security organs and the court trial, and that the correction of the defendant's name by means of a ruling did not affect the determination of the facts of the crime and did not constitute a procedural violation. The Longhu District Court dismissed the complaint. After that, Li Kuixing continued to appeal.
On January 30, 2023, Beijing Youth Daily reported that in early August 2022, two accomplices of Liu Xiwen's Shantou robbery (who have been released after completing their sentences) told reporters that they did not know the person in the photo, and this person did not commit the crime with them. On September 16, 2022, the real Liu Xiwen was arrested by the Longhu Branch of the Shantou Municipal Public Security Bureau on suspicion of robbery.
In February 2023, in response to this case, the Guangdong Provincial High People's Court responded that the complainant Li Kuixing's complaint against his brother Li Siqiang for robbery had been accepted by the court and was under review.
On April 21, 2023, Li Kuixing, who campaigned for his younger brother Li Siqiang's appeal. Source: Cover News, courtesy of the interviewee.
On May 8, 2023, Li Kuixing was diagnosed with pancreatic malignancy, secondary lung malignancy and lymph node malignancy, and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer after hospitalization.
In February 2024, the official Weibo of the Guangdong Provincial High People's Court announced that the court conducted a comprehensive review of the complainant Li Kuixing's complaint against the defendant Li Siqiang for robbery in accordance with the law, and found that the case met the conditions for retrial, and decided to order the Xiangqiao District People's Court of Chaozhou City to conduct a retrial. On April 1, 2024, Li Siqiang's family was notified by the court that the case would be heard on April 9.
Source: Yangcheng Evening News, Cover News, China News Network, etc