Xu smuggled a large amount of weapons and ammunition, and his defense in literary and artistic rights litigation reduced his sentence by one and a half years
"u3000u3000Xu, a Hong Kong resident who was defended by the director of Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm and lawyer Cao Guanghui, was convicted in the first instance on suspicion of smuggling weapons and ammunition. Xu was only sentenced to one and a half years in prison for being employed to smuggle 12 air guns and 500 air gun bombs."
"u3000u3000In 2017, Xu, a Hong Kong resident, was hired by others to carry "auto parts" into customs. He was spot-checked by the customs and found to be suspected guns and ammunition items. After judicial verification, he was found to have 12 air guns and 500 air gun bombs. After Xu was detained, Xu's family urgently came to Shenzhen to seek legal help for him, but after consulting several lawyers, they were not satisfied. In the end, Xu's family entrusted the case to Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm, which is famous for handling difficult, complex and major cases, and implored the director of the law firm to appear in person for defense."
Xu's smuggling of firearms and ammunition involved a large quantity, with clear facts and solid evidence. According to criminal law and the Supreme People's Court's judicial interpretation, Xu could have faced a life sentence. Even under the latest joint reply from the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on sentencing, and considering mitigating factors such as being an accomplice and voluntary surrender, Xu's minimum sentence could have been three years or more in prison.
After accepting the engagement, the lawyers at Zhiming Law Firm immediately commenced meticulous and solid work. During the prosecution stage, the lawyers actively communicated with the prosecutor, persuading the prosecutor to accept that Xu not only had the circumstances of voluntary surrender and was an occasional offender, first-time offender, and accomplice, but more importantly, that Xu was unaware that the smuggled goods were actually firearms and ammunition, and that Xu lacked the subjective intent to smuggle weapons and ammunition. The prosecutor also expressed in the indictment and during the trial the hope that the court would impose a lighter or reduced penalty on Xu. During the trial, the lawyers emphatically pointed out to the judge that if Xu had subjectively intended to smuggle a large quantity of weapons and ammunition, risking a possible life sentence while being willing to accept a reward of only HKD 600, it would be utterly absurd from a human nature perspective. The lawyers also explained to the judge that Xu’s voluntary guilty plea did not mean he admitted to having subjective intent, but was merely out of respect for the law. The lawyers decided to adopt a not guilty defense as the primary argument.
"u3000u3000Under the defense of knowing the lawyer's strong rational law, the court finally commuted Xu's special sentence and sentenced him to one and a half years in prison. This sentence is far less than the minimum three-year statutory sentence for the crime of smuggling weapons and ammunition, and Xu may be released in the near future. Knowing that the defense of literary and art rights protection lawsuits has been significantly reduced, universities have safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of criminal suspects."
