According to a report from the Xiamen City Court, on December 5, the Xiamen City Court transferred Lao Rongzhi, a fugitive who had been on the run for 23 years and was involved in three locations and seven murders, to the Nanchang City Court in Jiangxi Province. Jiangxi police escorted Lao Rongzhi back to Nanchang that same day. After investigation by Xiamen police, no evidence was found that Lao Rongzhi committed any crimes while hiding in Xiamen.
 

　　Currently, how Lao Rongzhi should be convicted and sentenced has become the focus of attention. First, can she still be held criminally responsible after 20 years on the run?
 

　　A lawyer from Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm stated,According to Article 87 of the Criminal Law, prosecution is no longer allowed after the following periods: (1) five years if the maximum statutory punishment is less than five years of fixed-term imprisonment; (2) ten years if the maximum statutory punishment is five years or more but less than ten years of fixed-term imprisonment; (3) fifteen years if the maximum statutory punishment is ten years or more of fixed-term imprisonment; (4) twenty years if the maximum statutory punishment is life imprisonment or the death penalty. If prosecution is deemed necessary after twenty years, it must be submitted to the Supreme People's Court for approval.
 

However, Article 88 of China's Criminal Law stipulates that if a case is filed for investigation by the People's Court, public security organs, or state security organs, or after a case is accepted by the People's Court, and the suspect evades investigation or trial, the statute of limitations does not apply.
 

That is to say,Regardless of whether Lao Rongzhi's time on the run exceeds 20 years, she will face legal punishment.
 

　　However, whether Lao Rongzhi can ultimately be sentenced to a severe punishment is not optimistic.This can be referenced by the 1999 Beijing West Railway Station gang rape and murder case.
 

On October 7, 1999, 19-year-old female white-collar worker Guo Xiaoyue mysteriously disappeared in the underground parking lot of Beijing West Station, with no news for seven years. It was not until 2006, when a warehouse cleaner went to clean the second underground floor and opened a long-sealed fan room, that her remains were discovered, already reduced to a mummy. Even though the police later successfully arrested the three suspects, who confessed to their crimes, due to the lack of key evidence in the case at the time, all three were ultimately acquitted.
 

What is reflected here isthe principle of "presumption of innocence" in China's criminal law.Based on the currently disclosed case details, the evidence appears insufficient. Even if Lao Rongzhi truthfully confesses to her crimes, she cannot be convicted with only a confession and lacking other evidence.
 

In handling criminal cases in China, the principle of emphasizing evidence, investigation, and not readily relying on confessions is upheld.
 

According to Article 55 of China's Criminal Procedure Law: In adjudicating all cases, emphasis must be placed on evidence, investigation, and not readily relying on confessions. If there is only the defendant's confession without other evidence, the defendant cannot be found guilty and punished; if there is no defendant's confession but the evidence is solid and sufficient, the defendant can be found guilty and punished. According to relevant interpretations of the Criminal Procedure Law, if there is only circumstantial evidence and reasonable doubt cannot be ruled out, a conviction cannot be made.
 

Moreover, back then, Fa Ziying took all the blame upon himself, and the judgment has long been made public. This is essentially equivalent to Lao Rongzhi having coordinated her confession with Fa Ziying. From the fact that Lao Rongzhi fled for 20 years, her strong will to survive is evident. If she were even slightly clever, she would likely have already prepared a defense to exonerate herself.