[Zhiming Brief] Man Fined 50,000 Yuan for Assaulting Lawyer in Court, Threatened to Kill Opposing Counsel
A country governed by the rule of law
A Guangzhou couple who bought a house in Panyu for their marriage but later broke up have been embroiled in a five-year legal battle over the property. During a recent court hearing, the man, who had failed to appear at multiple previous sessions, threw a power bank at the woman's attorney 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.
Cause:
Young couple breaks up and fights over a marital home worth 2.48 million yuan
Ms. Xu alleges that on February 5, 2009, during her relationship with her ex-boyfriend Xiao Qiu, they jointly purchased a commercial residential property in Nancun, Panyu District, Guangzhou, and obtained the real estate title certificate on July 29 of the same year. After their relationship broke down, Xiao Qiu refused to divide the property, attempting to monopolize it for himself, and the two have repeatedly resorted to litigation. It is reported that the purchase price of the property in question was 155 yuan at the time, and its current estimated value has reached 2.48 million yuan.
In the prior litigation, the court found that the property ownership certificate for the subject property registered Xiaoqiu as the rights holder, with Ms. Xu as a co-owner. Transaction records showed that the earnest money of 20,000 yuan and the down payment of 450,000 yuan were funded solely by Xiaoqiu, while the second installment of the purchase price, 1.08 million yuan, was transferred from an account under Ms. Xu's name to the developer as payment. Xiaoqiu's attorney argued that the 1.08 million yuan was funded by Xiaoqiu and deposited into a newly opened bank card under Ms. Xu's name to pay for the property, but no evidence was provided.
First instance:
The man's passive response led to the rejection of his retrial request.
The court of first instance held that Xiaoqiu and Ms. Xu, who were in a romantic relationship at the time, purchased the property in question for the purpose of marriage, but there was no clear agreement on the responsibility for contributing funds to the property or the proportion of ownership. A dispute subsequently arose because they failed to register their marriage due to incompatible personalities. Xiaoqiu’s defense lacked strong evidence, and accordingly, the property was determined to be jointly owned by both parties, and in the division of the property, each party should be deemed to hold a 50% interest. Both parties were dissatisfied and appealed, and the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court upheld the original judgment in 2013.
Ms. Xu stated that after the court judgment, Xiao Qiu still refused to divide the property, so she filed another lawsuit, requesting the court to sell or auction the property and divide the proceeds equally at 50% each. On August 6, 2014, the Panyu District Court, having been unable to serve litigation materials on Xiao Qiu through other methods of service prescribed by law, issued a public notice of response in accordance with the law, and service was deemed completed 60 days after the date of the public notice.
Because Ms. Xu requested in court that the court commission an appraisal and auction of the property, the court again notified Xiao Qiu by notice to attend the second hearing, but service could not be effected. The court therefore issued a notice for response in January 2015. During this period, court staff spoke with Xiao Qiu by telephone on multiple occasions and clearly informed him of the specific time and place of the hearing and the legal consequences of failing to appear in court to participate in the proceedings. However, Xiao Qiu failed to appear at the hearing without justified reasons and did not provide his specific contact address.
Xiao Qiu refused to accept the previous court judgment that recognized the house as jointly owned by both parties and applied to the Provincial High People's Court for a retrial. The Provincial High People's Court has ruled to reject the retrial application. The Panyu District Court ruled in May last year in support of Ms. Xu's litigation claims. Xiao Qiu refused to accept the ruling and filed an appeal with the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court.
Second instance:
Man who assaulted someone in court gets fined 50,000 yuan
On April 7 of this year, the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court held the first court inquiry of the second instance for this case. During the inquiry, the appellant Xiao Qiu severely disrupted court order, openly threw a power bank at the opposing party, punched the attorney representing the appellee, causing head injuries, and even threatened to kill the other party. The presiding judge Li Huan immediately notified bailiffs to maintain order at the scene. Afterwards, Xiao Qiu remained emotionally agitated and continued shouting and causing a disturbance, 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.
In view of the serious circumstances of Xiao Qiu's disruption of courtroom order, the collegial panel, after deliberation, decided to impose a fine of 50,000 yuan on Xiao Qiu. The Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court served the penalty decision on Xiao Qiu's attorney yesterday afternoon, requiring payment before June 5, 2016. (All parties involved are pseudonyms.)
–From Sohu News
Zhiming Jianping: A lawyer was brutally beaten by the opposing party during the first trial of a civil case of property division dispute, resulting in head injuries and even being threatened with murder. For this incident, the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court imposed a fine of 50000 yuan on Qiu Mouwen. Our lawyer believes that Qiu Mouwen not only engaged in aggressive behavior, but also made personal threats to others. According to the Ninth Amendment to the Criminal Law, in addition to the punishment of 50000 yuan, he should also be appropriately detained by the judiciary. Not long ago, there were incidents of lawyers being beaten and law firms being vandalized in Sichuan. If such incidents only involve fines, then the personal safety of lawyers cannot be guaranteed. How can we talk about protecting the rights and interests of lawyers in practice? Will everyone also have a skeptical attitude towards the court in the future? At the same time, it is also recommended that the lawyer should be good at creating innovative strategies, dare to take advantage of court errors, boldly play games, and restore order, so as to respect and protect their own rights, and truly respect and protect the rights of lawyers.
