A country governed by the rule of law

In Guangzhou, a couple bought a house in Panyu for their wedding but later broke up, leading to a five-year legal battle over the property. During a recent court hearing, the man, who had previously failed to appear at multiple hearings, threw a power bank at the woman’s lawyer and punched him. Yesterday, the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court announced a fine of 50,000 yuan against the man, Xiao Qiu, for disrupting court order.

　　起因：

After breaking up, the young couple fought over a wedding home valued at 2.48 million yuan

Ms. Xu claimed that on February 5, 2009, she and her ex-boyfriend Xiao Qiu jointly purchased a commercial apartment in Nancun, Panyu District, Guangzhou, during their relationship, and obtained the property ownership certificate on July 29 of the same year. Later, their relationship soured, and Xiao Qiu refused to divide the property, attempting to keep it for himself, leading to multiple court appearances. It is reported that the property was purchased for 1.55 million yuan at the time and is now estimated to be worth 2.48 million yuan.

In previous litigation, the court found that the property ownership certificate listed Xiao Qiu as the owner and Ms. Xu as a co-owner. Transaction records showed that the 20,000 yuan deposit and the 450,000 yuan down payment were solely paid by Xiao Qiu, while the second-phase payment of 1.08 million yuan was transferred from Ms. Xu’s account to the developer. Xiao Qiu’s representative argued that this 1.08 million yuan was actually paid by Xiao Qiu, who deposited it into a new bank account opened under Ms. Xu’s name, but no evidence was provided.

　　一审：

The man's passive response led to the rejection of his retrial request.

In the first instance, the court found that Xiao Qiu and Miss Xu were originally in a romantic relationship and purchased the property in question for marriage purposes during their courtship, but there were no clear agreements on capital contribution responsibilities or ownership shares. Due to a relationship breakdown, they failed to register for marriage, leading to a dispute. Xiao Qiu's defense lacked strong evidence, so the court determined the property was jointly owned, with each party entitled to a 50% share in the division of assets. Both parties appealed, and the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court upheld the original verdict in 2013.

Miss Xu stated that after the court's ruling, Xiao Qiu still refused to divide the property, so she filed another lawsuit, requesting the court to sell or auction the property and split the proceeds equally at 50% each. On August 6, 2014, the Panyu District Court, unable to serve litigation documents to Xiao Qiu through other legal methods, issued a summons by public notice, which would be deemed served 60 days after publication.

Since Miss Xu requested the court to commission an appraisal and auction of the property during the hearing, the court again notified Xiao Qiu via a notice to attend a second trial, but it could not be served. Consequently, another summons by public notice was issued in January 2015. During this period, court staff contacted Xiao Qiu multiple times by phone, clearly informing him of the specific trial time, location, and legal consequences of failing to appear, but Xiao Qiu did not attend the trial without valid reason and did not provide a specific contact address.

Xiao Qiu, dissatisfied with the previous court ruling that the property was jointly owned, applied for a retrial to the Provincial High Court, which rejected the application. The Panyu District Court ruled in favor of Miss Xu's claim last May. Xiao Qiu appealed to the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court.

　　二审：

A man caused a disturbance in court and assaulted someone; the court fined him 50,000 yuan.

On April 7 this year, the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court held the first session of the second-instance hearing for this case. During the hearing, the appellant Xiao Qiu severely disrupted court order, openly threw a power bank at the opposing party, punched the opposing party's attorney, causing head injuries, and even threatened to kill the other party. The presiding judge Li Huan immediately notified court police to maintain order on site. Despite this, Xiao Qiu remained agitated and noisy, so Li Huan ordered him to be removed from the courtroom.

The opposing party's attorney requested in court that the court punish Xiao Qiu for assaulting others and severely disrupting court order, and later submitted a written application for punishment.

Given the severity of Xiao Qiu's disruption of court proceedings, the collegial panel decided to fine him 50,000 yuan. Yesterday afternoon, the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court served the punishment decision to Xiao Qiu's attorney, requiring payment by June 5, 2016. (All names are pseudonyms.)

– From Sohu News

Zhiming Commentary: During the first hearing of a second-instance civil case involving a property division dispute, a lawyer was violently punched in the head by the opposing party in open court, resulting in head injuries and even threats of murder. In response, the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court imposed a fine of 50,000 yuan on Qiu Mouwen. Our firm believes that Qiu Mouwen not only committed assault but also made threats against another person. According to the Criminal Law Amendment (IX), in addition to the 50,000 yuan fine, he should also be subject to appropriate judicial detention. Recently, there was also an incident where a lawyer in Sichuan was beaten and a law firm was vandalized. If such incidents are merely resolved with fines, the personal safety of lawyers cannot be guaranteed, let alone the protection of lawyers' practice rights. Will people then begin to doubt the courts? We also suggest that the lawyer should be adept at strategic litigation, dare to exploit court oversights, boldly engage in legal battles, and correct errors, thereby respecting and protecting his own rights, and ensuring that everyone truly respects and protects lawyers' rights.