Mao Mou Rui suspected of serious crime of smuggling red oil
Borrowing evidence from the prosecution to 'climb up the stairs'
Free migrant workers from the serious crime of smuggling
Case background:
Since the reform and opening up, with the rapid development of China's economy, urbanization has accelerated, the urban floating population has increased, and the proportion of migrant workers in the urban population has risen year by year, gradually becoming an important factor in urban development and stability.
At the same time, migrant workers not only face immense survival and work pressures, but also, due to their origins in rural areas and underdeveloped small towns, have relatively low education levels and limited knowledge. In specific job positions, they are often in a subordinate management role, making them susceptible to deception by unscrupulous individuals or exploitation by criminals, frequently bearing personal or liability risks they do not fully understand.
Migrant workers are undoubtedly a 'vulnerable group' in the city. Their status as farmers and migrants has varying degrees of impact on their situation in the city. They often suffer from various unfair treatments, and the jobs provided to them by big cities are mostly low-level jobs, such as decoration, loading and unloading, maintenance, handling, printing, and other arduous, dirty, tiring, and dangerous work in construction, manufacturing, and production-oriented enterprises. Although their income level is significantly higher than that in their hometown, they often feel inferior in their work due to long working hours or high intensity. Their work form is single, and their promotion opportunities are slim. Therefore, they often have no understanding of the operation and management of units outside their job positions... Especially for some illegal small and medium-sized enterprises, they have high physical requirements for migrant workers, but low intellectual requirements, and even do not allow them to understand the overall operation and internal operation of the enterprise. They only need migrant workers to do their job well. This often puts migrant workers who are not familiar with the situation on the "black pot" of illegal operations, or becomes the "scapegoat" for illegal operators.
In society, whenever a company or unit experiences a major adverse incident, managers often shift the blame onto migrant workers!
Shenzhen is an economically developed immigrant city, with migrant workers from all over the country working hard to build and create this city. They are an important force for the stable development of Shenzhen and its economic growth. It can be said that they are the main producers of various types of enterprises in Shenzhen, but they may not necessarily be the beneficiaries or beneficiaries of these enterprises. Moreover, in this city where the scope, nature, and methods of commercial operations are mixed, it is not uncommon for migrant workers to become "accomplices" or "accomplices" of illegal enterprises or criminals due to their lack of understanding of the business scope, nature, and methods of the enterprises they work for. Mao Mourui is such a migrant worker.
In early 2011, Attorney Zhiming took on the defense for a suspect in a major red oil smuggling case. Our client, Mao Mourui, was one of the defendants in this red oil smuggling case.
In early July 2009, Mao Mourui, a farmer from Henan, followed the southward migration trend to work in the Daya Bay area of Huizhou, Guangdong. Soon after, recommended by a fellow villager and without understanding the situation, he went to work at a black-market red oil decolorization plant in Shenzhen.
The main business and focus of this black market red oil decolorization processing plant is to smuggle waste diesel oil from Hong Kong into a remote fishing village factory on the coast of Shenzhen every day for heating and decolorization, and then resell it at a high price to the domestic market, commonly known as "smuggled red oil".
Due to Mao Mourui's knowledge of driving skills, as well as his ability to drive and repair cars, he was arranged by the management of this black market red oil decolorization processing plant to perform follow-up maintenance work, occasionally replacing the driver to drive on top of the shift
At the end of July 2009, Mao Mourui, who had been diligently repairing and driving vehicles every day, was arrested along with two managers of the red oil processing plant and over a dozen migrant workers engaged in heating, cleaning, and decolorization work by customs anti-smuggling police, and later tried together with other co-defendants.
At this point, the true mastermind behind this case had long been hidden or avoided, and thus remained at large. The so-called first culprit of this "smuggling of red oil case" is the "professional manager" who is in charge of the daily management of the processing plant - the factory director Xie, and the accomplice Mao Mourui is also listed as one of the three co perpetrators, ranking in the middle.
The other ten migrant workers, such as Yin Pengpeng, who were arrested along with Mao Mourui, claimed they were unaware of the situation as they were hired by the processing plant for heating, cleaning, and decolorizing work. They were quickly cleared of suspicion by the public security and prosecution authorities, changed to witness status, and allowed to return home safely.
Shortly after, Mao Mourui was accused by the prosecutor of smuggling 412 tons of red oil involved in car transportation, and was suspected of evading more than 770000 yuan in taxes; The first principal offender, Xie, has been charged by the prosecution with smuggling 7832 tons of red oil and evading taxes totaling over 146 million yuan
In fact, the ten migrant workers, including Yin Pengpeng, who were involved in burning, decolorizing, and washing oil, were implicated in the same amount of smuggled red oil as the primary culprit Xie Mou—7,832 tons—and theoretically faced tax evasion of over 146 million yuan. However, these ten migrant workers were acquitted and released.
Due to the fact that Mao Mourui and others were found to be involved in a particularly serious case and should be sentenced to more than 15 years of imprisonment, even life imprisonment, or even death penalty according to law, the Shenzhen Customs Anti Smuggling Bureau and the Shenzhen Municipal Court jointly investigated and directly submitted it to the Shenzhen Procuratorate for review and prosecution. Therefore, this major "smuggling of red oil" case was ultimately decided to be prosecuted by the Shenzhen Municipal Court in accordance with the law, and the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court will directly conduct the trial and judgment.
From the joint investigation and preliminary review by the Shenzhen Customs Anti Smuggling Bureau and the Shenzhen Municipal Court, to the initiation of public prosecution by the Shenzhen Municipal People's Court, to the trial by the Intermediate People's Court, Mao Mourui and other main perpetrators of the so-called "major smuggling of red oil case" have been detained for more than a year.
From the Municipal Intermediate People's Court's trial on July 15, 2010, to the final verdict in November 2011, Mao Mourui and others had been in criminal detention for two years and four months.
At that time, according to Article 153 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, anyone who smuggles goods or articles other than those specified in Articles 151, 152, and 347 of this Law shall be punished according to the following provisions based on the severity of the circumstances:
(1) If the amount of tax evaded on smuggled goods or articles is 500,000 RMB or more, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years or life imprisonment, and shall also be fined not less than one time but not more than five times the amount of tax evaded, or have their property confiscated; if the circumstances are especially serious, the punishment shall be imposed in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 4 of Article 151 of this Law.
Article 151, paragraph 4, explicitly states: "If the circumstances are particularly serious, the offender shall be sentenced to life imprisonment or death, and confiscation of property shall also be imposed
Therefore, if the suspect Mao Mourui is charged by the court in the indictment, he should be severely punished. He is likely to be sentenced to 15 years of fixed-term imprisonment or life imprisonment. It will be a long prison time waiting for him
Neither Mao Mourui nor his relatives expected that after the defense by Attorney Wang Tengfeng's team, in November 2011, the first-instance judgment from the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court sentenced Mao Mourui to only two years and six months of fixed-term imprisonment.
At the time of receiving the first-instance judgment from the intermediate court, Mao Mourui had only two months left until his sentence was completed! Overjoyed, Mao Mourui and his family immediately decided not to appeal, so that he could leave prison as soon as possible and return home for the New Year!
Thanks to the special defense provided by Lawyer Zhiming for Mao Mourui, even the first defendant Xie, the mastermind behind this massive smuggling of red oil case, was given a light sentence of only 4 years in prison.
So, how did I manage to change the sentence of the defendant Mao Mourui, who may have been sentenced to 15 years or more in prison until death according to the law, to a reduced sentence of only two years and six months in prison? In the defense of the defendant Mao Mourui, what unique strategies and techniques did Lawyer Zhiming use to create this miracle?
It should be said that Mao Mourui is both unfortunate and fortunate. Mao Mourui's misfortune stems from being a migrant worker who, in order to make a living, was unable to choose a decent job that provided him with both physical and mental safety and a decent income. Sadly, he was used by criminals and even became a "scapegoat"!
Mao Mourui's luck lies in his son's timely request for help and entrusting his defense lawyer to the team of Wang Tengfeng, a literary and artistic rights litigation practitioner who is accustomed to "taking the edge of the sword" and skilled in using military tactics and strategies, as his defense lawyer.
Our side fully utilized the identity and role of more than ten migrant workers like Yin Mou Peng, who were involved in heating and decolorizing, to conduct a comparative analysis and defense against our client Mao Mourui.
But precisely these migrant workers were released by the public security and prosecution authorities as innocent witnesses, yet they testified against our defendant as guilty! Isn't this clearly a violation of legal fairness?!
This sharp contrast immediately gave our lawyers a "panacea" for Mao Mourui, one of the suspect in this case.
Unexpectedly receiving this divine "good prescription", it was immediately confirmed that the identities and roles of more than ten foreign workers, including witness Yin Moupeng, were compared with those of our defendant, serving as a "trump card" and "lifesaver" to defend Mao Mourui's innocence!
Having identified this' trump card 'and' lifesaver ', I was instantly confident in rescuing Mao Mourui. And through my perfect performance of "climbing up the stairs", the defense process for Mao Mourui was almost entirely carried out according to my defense strategy for literary rights litigation, and ultimately achieved the desired result.
Defense art:
The coping strategy used in this case is the military strategy of "going up the house and pulling the ladder".
'Ascending the house and pulling the ladder' belongs to the 28th strategy of the Thirty Six Stratagems of Military Strategy and the fifth set of 'Parallel Battle Strategy'.
The plan of "climbing up the house and drawing stairs" originally referred to luring the opponent with small benefits, and then cutting off the opponent's reinforcements when the opponent was up, in order to surround and annihilate the opponent.
This tactic of luring the enemy has its own cleverness. After all, opponents are generally not easy to fall for, so we should first set up a "ladder" for them, intentionally providing convenience for them. After the opponent "goes upstairs", that is, after the opponent enters our pre laid "pocket", we will dismantle the "ladder" and "surround" the opponent.
In the implementation process of the strategy of "climbing the house and pulling the ladder", there is a great deal of knowledge on how to place the "ladder": for enemies of sexual greed, they are lured with benefits; To the arrogant enemy, it shows our weakness and confuses them; To deal with reckless and clueless enemies, set up ambushes to trap them... In short, according to the opponent's situation, cleverly place a "ladder", guide the opponent to "climb the house" and find the opportunity to "draw the ladder" in a timely manner.
During the cross examination stage of the "Mao Mourui's Participation in Smuggling Red Oil Case" in court, as the defense lawyer of the defendant Mao Mourui, the author specially selected more than ten witnesses and testimonies of foreign workers such as Yin Moupeng in this case, and repeatedly checked them with the prosecution, guiding the prosecution to publicly emphasize the complete truthfulness, legality and effectiveness of the witness testimonies in court, and highly focusing the attention of all parties in the trial on more than ten foreign workers such as Yin Moupeng. This is equivalent to our borrowing the testimony of more than ten foreign workers, including Yin Moupeng, obtained by the prosecution, and confirming the legality of their identity through cross examination in court, putting the prosecution on the "roof".
When it came to the court debate stage, our side downplayed all other evidence from the prosecution, only seizing on the identity of the prosecution's witnesses, Yin Mou Peng and over a dozen other migrant workers, and their role in the case, questioning the prosecutor:
Why, our defendant Mao Mourui and witness Yin Moupeng, along with more than ten other migrant workers, are all workers in a smuggled red oil factory, but with different roles and responsibilities. Moreover, from the perspective of the case, more than ten foreign workers, including witness Yin Moupeng, have done more work or affairs in this "smuggling of red oil case", with a larger amount of money involved. The case should also be more serious and should be investigated together. Since more than ten migrant workers, including Yin Moupeng, have been allowed to go unpunished, why does the prosecutor of the prosecution treat our party, Mao Mourui, who is only responsible for transporting and repairing vehicles, differently and instead make a mountain out of a molehill, regard him as one of the main culprits involved in the case, pursue his criminal responsibility and intend to impose a heavy sentence? Isn't this a typical legal injustice?!
This argument hits the crux of the matter for the prosecution. In this situation, the prosecution is unable to timely and effectively withdraw, leaving the prosecutor speechless in court and unable to explain the huge "errors and omissions" in their indictment. Of course, we never expected that our defense of Mao Mourui would solely focus on the identities and roles of more than ten foreign workers, including witness Yin Moupeng. So, the prosecutors were caught off guard and unable to respond to our defense arguments, only blushing, awkwardly stuttering, and speechless.
It goes without saying that our client Mao Mourui's release from the serious crime should be just around the corner
In this case, the secret of our implementation of the "upstairs ladder" strategy is to act according to the opportunity. When we discovered that the prosecution had made significant mistakes and omissions, and the public, procuratorate, and judiciary did not correct them before the trial of this case, it should be because they did not realize the existence and severity of this mistake, leading to repeated mistakes until we were first put on a "ladder" layer by layer to "send them" and "go to the house" during the trial. We repeatedly cross examined and confirmed the evidence with "serious flaws" obtained by the prosecution, including the testimony of more than ten foreign workers such as Yin Moupeng, which strongly confirmed the legitimacy and enormous effectiveness of their evidence. Then they pulled out the ladder, vigorously questioned, relentlessly pursued and beat them, forcing them to submit: since the prosecution believes that more than 7800 tons were cleaned up, Yin Moupeng, a migrant worker from Hongyou, is innocent. So, what crime does Mao Mourui, a migrant worker who only helped repair and transport over 400 tons of Hongyou, have? Getting up the house and taking the stairs "has an immediate effect!
In court, the author thoroughly investigated the identities and roles of all personnel involved in the processing plant involved in the "smuggling of red oil case" (whether they were present or not), and made clear correspondences and comparisons between them. With the judicial authorities' judgment of the innocence of more than ten migrant workers, including Yin Moupeng, in the case, it contrasted with their pursuit of guilt against our party - migrant worker Mao Mourui. This formed a strong impression of the judicial authorities' criminal investigation of Mao Mourui, which made everyone at the trial site feel the same emotions of the involved personnel being sued and facing serious imprisonment, forcing the prosecutor to feel ashamed and embarrassed. At the same time, it also aroused the compassion of the trial judges.
Clearly, Mao Ruirui, identified by the public security and procuratorial authorities as one of the main offenders in this case, and the over a dozen migrant workers like Yin Peng, so-called witnesses outside the case, were all workers unaware of the inner workings of the black-market red oil processing plant—they only differed in their division of labor. Moreover, in terms of the quantity and amount involved, the over a dozen migrant workers like Yin Peng far exceeded the so-called main offender and defendant Mao Ruirui. They could remain free and unprosecuted outside the case, while defendant Mao Ruirui faced a sentence of over fifteen years—this was extremely unfair. The stark contrast highlighted the unjust enforcement and judicial handling by the public security and procuratorial authorities.
When presenting defense opinions, the author emphasizes (expressed with passion and rich infectiousness) that in this major "smuggling of red oil case", Mao Mourui and more than ten other migrant workers were actually hired as laborers by the factory owner suspected of illegal activities. However, one was a maintenance worker who traveled with the car, and the other were stokers who set fire to clean and decolorize the wood. I borrowed the lyrics from the Huangmei opera "Tian Xian Pei" and said, "You carry water, I farm; you do laundry, I cook, and both husband and wife return the house." The only difference between the two is their division of labor, but their job nature and identity are similar. Moreover, the amount of money involved by witnesses outside the case, such as Yin Moupeng, is much larger than that of the defendant Mao Mourui who came to the case today. Why should workers who have made significant contributions to suspected illegal business and smuggling crimes not be held legally accountable; On the contrary, workers who make small contributions to suspected illegal business and smuggling crimes will be detained and face the harshest punishment? Where is the rule of law and fairness!
Then, in the court debate, the author took the opportunity to make a strong request in the court, which was both hard to get and a dilemma: either, in the name of suspect, please hunt down Yin Moupeng and more than ten other migrant workers who were missed; Or, please release the so-called suspect Mao Mourui who was wrongly arrested without discrimination! If the judicial authorities insist that the previous acquittal of more than ten migrant workers, including Yin Moupeng, is correct, then please fairly and justly sentence the defendant Mao Mourui not guilty according to the law!
Faced with such a sharp defense strategy and opinion, the judicial authorities found themselves in a difficult position. Under public scrutiny, it was nearly impossible for the public security and procuratorial organs to overturn their previous conclusion and re-designate the over a dozen migrant workers, including Yin Mou Peng, as criminal suspects, let alone admit to layers of errors in their prior legal investigations and prosecutorial reviews. Therefore, in the end, the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court, as a judicial body, after thorough deliberation and consultation behind closed doors, made a decision to impose an exceptionally lenient sentence on my client, Mao Mou Rui.
However, in the judgment issued by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court, no sufficient statutory grounds for sentence reduction were specifically stated. It merely vaguely referenced considerations such as the defendant Mao Mou Rui's criminal facts and circumstances, his post-crime attitude of admitting guilt, and the adoption of the defense counsel's opinion to impose a reduced sentence!
Imagine, every legal worker knows that if it weren't for the author's brilliant performance during the courtroom defense, which moved, infected, and forced the judicial authorities to only impose a special reduction in punishment on our party, Mao Mourui, it would not have been possible for the unexpected light sentence in this case to occur; Obviously, the author's defense opinion deeply reminded and stimulated them, causing them to have some concerns. If they insist on wrongly sentencing the main perpetrators of the so-called "major smuggling of red oil case" such as Mao Mourui, once the defendants refuse to appeal the first instance judgment, it may expose this wrongful case and cause the court, procuratorial organs, and public security departments to face the embarrassing situation of starting from scratch and working hard to supplement the investigation and pursuit of the escaped criminals. The judicial authorities should weigh the pros and cons, coordinate internally, and make a seemingly unexpected but reasonable legal and lenient judgment in this case to win the case.
For Mao Mou Rui, a former criminal suspect and one of the principal offenders, this verdict was truly a blessing in disguise amidst misfortune.
Lessons from the case:
To be honest, in judicial practice, it is common for prosecutorial authorities to make erroneous judgments or dispositions regarding involved parties. In most cases, following conventional litigation thinking and techniques, encountering such situations typically leads to a reluctance or inability to question, delve deeper, or even dare not or be unskilled in pursuing the matter. Even if there are doubts or objections, they mostly take the form of arguments like excluding illegal evidence, invalidating evidence, or insufficient evidence validity. Such light and superficial approaches are almost like moaning without being sick, or irrelevant and lacking force. Naturally, they fail to create a strong contrasting effect of right and wrong, and are far from sufficient to alert the court and the presiding judge to a high level of vigilance and internal concern.
Most of the time, the prosecution's erroneous judgments or mishandling of involved parties are glossed over in court by mediocre, conservative-thinking lawyers, only to be buried in their routine, lackluster arguments that lack decisive points, leading to frequent errors and wrongful convictions.
In this case, however, the team of lawyers led by Wang Tengfeng broke the mold by skillfully employing artistic litigation techniques. Ignoring other conventional legal disputes—such as elements of a crime or issues of principal versus accessory offenders—they focused solely on this flawed piece of evidence. Borrowing lyrics from the Huangmei opera "The Heavenly Match," they vividly magnified the evidence provided by the prosecution, which appeared normal but concealed significant legal and logical errors that countless lawyers might overlook. They loudly emphasized and pursued this point, then raised strong, fact-based doubts, presenting the case in a lively and compelling manner. Their arguments were both reasonable and lawful, leaving the presiding judge with a tangible, perceptible, and impactful impression. Ultimately, the judicial decision-maker was deeply moved, accepted the defense's arguments, and relieved the defendant of their wrongful conviction.
Just think again, if the public security investigation and prosecution authorities in this case found early that they realized the harm of this "evidence", as long as they did not provide it, they should also be able to try the suspect for serious crimes based on many other evidences.
Thus, achieving such a miraculous effect in criminal defense is not something that can be accomplished overnight with mere advocacy skills and practical experience. As a criminal defense lawyer, one must not only accumulate substantial practical experience but also cultivate and develop a certain innate talent and insight. It requires rigorous training in reverse thinking, divergent thinking, and the ability to deduce minute details. One must handle cases with dedication, and more importantly, possess the courage and awareness to challenge public authority errors. One must develop a highly acute sense of observation and adaptability, be adept at promptly identifying and seizing opportunities in the moment, and skillfully employ strategic techniques to engage in legal games with public authorities, upholding the rule of law and justice, bearing responsibility for society, and seeking fairness for the people.
In addition, one must have a compassionate heart, dare to seek justice and justice for the lower class civilians and even migrant workers, and even challenge public authorities, in order to protect their legitimate rights and interests from infringement and prevent them from suffering from unfair treatment... Maintaining the essential emotions and principles of a legal worker.
