On June 5 this year, World Environment Day, Yang Xiuqi, president of the Leigongshan Environmental Protection Court of the People's Court of Leishan County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, came to a golden silk nanmu tree on the mountainside of Baiyanpo in Nanshao Village, Jianhe County. In the past three years, he has come to check on the restoration of the ancient tree many times, and now Yang Xiuqi is very pleased to see the white flowers of the tree blooming among the green sprouts and old leaves.
Three years ago, this thousand-year-old tree was stolen and cut "life hangs by a thread", and the third-level court of Guizhou Province and the local government have joined hands to continue to make efforts to save the ancient tree, so that the ancient tree has been revitalized.
On August 14, 2023, the Supreme People's Court issued the "Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Criminal Cases of Destruction of Forest Resources" and typical cases, and the "Gu Nanmu Wang" theft and cutting case handled by the Leishan County Court was selected into it, and in January 2024, the case was selected as one of the "Top Ten Cases of Promoting the Rule of Law in the New Era in 2023" jointly selected by the Supreme People's Court and China Central Radio and Television.
Rare plants are a relatively fragile part of wild plants, and once they become extinct, not only will their genetic, cultural and scientific value be lost, but they will also trigger the chain decline or even extinction of other species, affecting the stability of the ecosystem.
The Supreme People's Court commented on the case, saying that the people's court pursued the criminal responsibility of the 11 defendants in accordance with the law, upgraded the sentence for the most serious crimes, and ordered the 15 defendants in the civil public interest litigation attached to the criminal case to bear the liability for ecological restoration and punitive damages for the destruction of precious trees and damage to the ecological environment.
"Gu Nanmu Wang" was stolen and cut, and the Guizhou Provincial Public Security Department upgraded the level of investigation
January 31, 2022, Chinese New Year's Eve. Yang Laojin, a villager from Nanshao Village, Jianhe County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, got up early in the morning and came to the "Ancient Nanmu King" tree located in the "Baiyan House Foot" mountain field of Zhandan Natural Village in Nanshao Village, praying for the safety and happiness of the whole family in the coming year.
Next to this "ancient Nanmu King", there is a small "Bodhisattva Temple" built by the villagers. Yang Laojin suddenly found that the red cloth that covered the "Bodhisattva Temple" on weekdays had been moved, and it was now covered on the tree of the "Ancient Nanmu King". Curious, he lifted the red cloth and saw that a large piece of the tree had been torn off. Tree roots are the vital part of the trunk close to the roots, and when cut, the tree is at risk of death.
It is a national second-class protected plant, with very little stock in Guizhou, and is a rare treasure because of its long growth cycle. According to research, the stolen cut of this golden silk nanmu has 2600 years old, DBH 1.9 meters, chest circumference of 6 meters, the local people will respect it as the "ancient Nanmu king", often come to the tree to pray for beauty, health, wind and rain, even the fallen dead branches can not bear to destroy.
When Yang Changcheng, the village party secretary, learned of the incident, he immediately reported to the local forest police. In view of the seriousness of the case, the Guizhou Provincial Public Security Department upgraded the investigation, dug deep and thoroughly, successfully solved the case, arrested a number of suspects, and also found out that many other Nanmu trees in the surrounding area were tragically stolen and cut.
After investigation, Lu Mouzhou, Zhang Moufu and others wandered around Jianhe, Taijiang, Rongjiang and other counties in Qiandongnan Prefecture, Guizhou Province at the end of 2021, stealing and cutting golden silk nanmu and reselling them in Guangxi, Fujian and other places, forming a black industrial chain of illegal cutting, transportation, collection and resale.
For this 2,600-year-old "Ancient Nanmu King", Lu Mouzhou and others have coveted it for a long time, because they are worried that the tree is often worshiped by the villagers, and the stealing will be exposed sooner or later, and they have hesitated again and again. But driven by interests, their jealousy of law and folk customs was finally overwhelmed by desire, and they poisoned the "King of Gu Nanmu" late at night on December 13, 2021.
After using a chainsaw to cut off a piece of "Ancient Nanmu King" Zhubu sheet, because the sky was getting brighter, several people hid the Nanmu sheet on the side of the road and evacuated. In the early morning of the second day, Lu Mouzhou and others drove to the mountain again, transported the stolen sheets down the mountain, and then transported them to Lu Mouzhou's home in Angying Village, Taiyong Town, Jianhe County.
On December 15, 2021, Lu Mouzhou and Zhang Moufu asked Wang Mouliang and others to negotiate the price and delivery method from Liuzhou, Guangxi to Lu's home, and then reached a deal for 140,000 yuan. Subsequently, Wang Mouliang showed the sheet to Weng Mousheng through a WeChat video, and resold the sheet at a price of 170,000 yuan. After receiving the sheets, Weng Mousheng processed them into 33 thin plates and transported them to Liu Mouquan's furniture factory for storage.
After the incident, Weng Mousheng and others turned themselves in and took the initiative to take the police to the furniture factory to seize the Nanmu sheet involved in the case.
Considering the multiple values of ancient trees, the trial is conducted for the purpose of restoration
On December 20, 2022, the People's Procuratorate of Jianhe County, Guizhou Province, filed a public prosecution with the Leishan County Court on suspicion of endangering national key protected plants by Lu Mouzhou and others, and incidentally filed a civil public interest lawsuit. The Leishan County Court formed a collegial panel in accordance with the law, and held a public hearing on February 27, 2023 for a joint trial.
It was found that from September to December 2021, in order to obtain economic benefits, Lu Mouzhou, Zhang Moufu and others invited each other to steal and cut Nanmu sheets for sale, and successively used chainsaws to steal Nanmu blocks in Jianhe, Taijiang, Rongjiang and other counties in Qiandongnan Prefecture, Guizhou Province, and sold them to Luo Mouzheng, Yang Mouyong, Wang Mouliang, Wang Mouming and others. After Wang Mouliang and Wang Mouming acquired Nanmu, they resold Nanmu to Weng Mousheng, Liu Mouquan and others by mail.
After identification, the tree involved in the case was wild Phoebe minami, which is a national second-class key protected wild plant. Lu Mouzhou and others stole more than 30 Minnan plants, and caused the death of 7 of them, resulting in the serious destruction of the 2,600-year-old "Ancient Nanmu King"; More than 200 pieces of Nanmu were illegally traded, and more than 2.28 cubic meters of standing timber were converted, with a cumulative profit of more than 410,000 yuan.
The court held that wild plant resources are the precious wealth given by nature to mankind and the cornerstone of ecological civilization construction and sustainable social development. Ancient and famous trees are a key part of biodiversity, one of the spiritual sustenance and national cultural carriers of the local people, and have important historical, scientific research and potential humanistic values. Due to the destruction or damage of Nanmu, its ecological service function was lost or weakened. The criminal acts of Lu Mouzhou and others, infringing on wild plant resources and the national protection system, destroying biodiversity and the ecological environment, and harming the public interest, should bear civil tort liability while bearing the criminal punishment, bear the cost of restoration and treatment of the damaged Nanmu, and bear the cost of ecological function loss of the dead Nanmu. Each defendant in an attached civil lawsuit shall bear the costs of assessment and appraisal.
Yang Xiuqi introduced that because the trial of the case took time, the "Gu Nanmu King" had been damaged at that time and was in urgent need of treatment. After entrusting an appraisal agency to identify the tree, the court received a reply that it could be repaired, and after repeated evaluation, the court finally decided to try its best to treat this "ancient Nanmu King" with judicial power while hearing the case normally.
Innovate "multiple" punishment and issue the country's first "Ancient Tree Rescue Order"
On April 12, 2023, the "Double Carbon" Circuit Court of the Leishan County Court publicly announced the verdict in Jianhe County, imposing "multiple" punishments on 11 criminals including Lu Mouzhou: criminal responsibility for the crime of endangering national key protected plants and a fine of 400,000 yuan; confiscation of profit-making proceeds; seizure of criminal instruments; ordered to subscribe for 980,000 yuan of carbon sinks to restore the ecology; Bear the treatment fee of 290,000 yuan for "Gu Nanmu King"; A penalty of 150,000 yuan in damages was imposed. The verdict of this case has attracted the continuous attention of netizens across the country, promoted the formation of a good trend of the whole society caring, supporting and participating in the protection of ancient and famous trees, and achieved excellent political, legal, social and ecological effects.
On April 22, 2023, World Earth Day, the Intermediate People's Court of Qiandongnan Prefecture responded to social concerns in a timely manner and organized the "Millennium 'Ancient Nanmu King' Treatment and Protection Launching Ceremony" under the tree, arranged the rescue and ecological protection of ancient trees, reaffirmed the judicial will to escort the ecology, and publicized the culture of ancient and famous trees, which was highly praised by the people in the place where the crime occurred.
On the same day, the Leishan County Court issued the country's first "Ancient Tree Rescue Order" to the people involved in the case, ordering them to "pay 293,890 yuan for treatment and restoration within three days, which will be used for the rescue of 'Gu Nanmu Wang' in advance." to carry out it immediately, without error". It also ordered the defendant to use scientific means to intensify treatment in accordance with the restoration plan of the forestry scientific research institution to ensure the restoration of the vitality of the ancient tree.
Subsequently, the Leishan County Court issued a "Judicial Recommendation" to the relevant units. In accordance with the requirements of the provincial and state courts, the hospital carried out the restoration and treatment of "Gu Nanmu Wang" throughout the whole process of handling the case - planning a series of matters for the restoration of ancient trees, participating in the discussion of treatment plans, stepping up supervision and implementation of the details, and paying close attention to the efficacy of restoration. At the same time, it strengthened communication and cooperation with forestry scientific research units and forest public security, and also prompted the local government to equip a special guard for the "Gu Nanmu King".
On June 5, 2023, World Environment Day, the High People's Court of Guizhou Province, the Intermediate People's Court of Qiandongnan Prefecture, and the People's Court of Leishan County, together with the local forestry department and government, jointly established the province's first "Demonstration Base for the Judicial Protection of Ancient and Famous Trees". At the same time, the "Warning Education Monument for Damaged Ancient Trees" was unveiled, and the inscription was solemn, and the purpose of the resignation was reached, warning future generations.
The case has been a gratifying response to social concerns by the third-level courts of Guizhou Province and the local government, and the results have been gratifying, and according to the continuous observation in the past one year since the conclusion of the case, the results have been getting better and better, and the ancient tree has basically healed.
Source: Democracy and the Rule of Law
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