[4] They've made a name, they've made a name—Lushan Court has made a name! The Lushan Court's "mediation" of a case involving a minor raping another minor was a complete success. After the victim's family received 80,000 yuan in compensation from the suspect Zhao's parents, they reconciled with the Zhao family. Zhao was released on bail pending review of his detention and has now returned to school. Zhao's parents presented the court with a silk banner inscribed with: "Enforcing the law for the people, fulfilling duties with dedication, caring for youth, and offering heartfelt assistance."

 

[5] They've become famous, they've become famous—Lushan Court has become famous! The Lushan Court submitted this case as a highlight and achievement of its prosecutorial work to participate in the 2018 Henan Provincial Procuratorial System's "Good Stories of Henan Procuratorate" selection and evaluation activity. It reported the incident on the court's official WeChat account under the title "A Lushan Middle School Student Impulsively Commits a Mistake, Both Sides Reconcile with Prosecutor's Intervention," accompanied by a photo of the rape suspect's parents presenting a silk banner to the court. After the case was exposed, the whole country was shocked. Not only did the idiom "reconcile" trend on social media, but netizens also dug up Li Tianyi's case again. While condemning the Lushan Court for "taking pride in what should be shameful," netizens widely expressed sympathy for Li Tianyi, who was sentenced to ten years for "an impulsive mistake."

 

[1] Pay attention! Did the Lushan Court abuse its power and handle the case unlawfully?

 

[2] The author believes that if this case followed the "procedure for public prosecution cases with party reconciliation," the Lushan Court's decision violated relevant laws. This procedure is limited to "crimes against personal or property rights arising from civil disputes," and rape can by no means be considered "arising from civil disputes." Based on the latest statement from the Lushan Court, the case is still in the review and prosecution stage. If the outcome is conditional non-prosecution, it remains within the authority and discretion of the court and prosecutor, and cannot be considered abuse of power or unlawful handling. However, even with "conditional non-prosecution," the author personally does not agree with the Lushan Court's decision, and the article written by the court's publicity department is a disaster.

 

[3] The "Regulations on Handling Criminal Cases Involving Minors by People's Courts" clarifies that "conditional non-prosecution may be applied to minor suspects." The applicable conditions are: a minor suspected of crimes against personal rights, property rights, or disrupting social order, with a possible sentence of less than one year in prison, meeting prosecution conditions but showing remorse. The regulations also specify that before deciding on conditional non-prosecution, the court must hear opinions from the public security organs and the victim.

 

[4] According to the report, the Lushan Court first "conducted an in-depth understanding of suspect Zhao's family upbringing environment, provided psychological counseling to Zhao, and helped him recognize the error of his actions." After Zhao wrote a confession and apology letter, the court "summoned both sets of parents and contacted the local mediation committee to facilitate reconciliation." Ultimately, "both parties voluntarily signed a reconciliation agreement." The so-called "court mediation" can be seen as the court hearing the victim's opinion during the conditional non-prosecution process, rather than criminal reconciliation.

 

[5] Pay attention! Since conditional non-prosecution only applies to "possible sentences of less than one year in prison," could Zhao, who raped a minor female and infected her with a contagious disease, be sentenced to less than one year in prison?

 

[6] If the author were the prosecutor, they would never believe Zhao could be sentenced to less than one year in prison, and thus would never apply conditional non-prosecution to Zhao. However, the author also believes that the prosecutor's judgment that Zhao might receive a sentence of less than one year is still within their discretion. The criminal law stipulates a minimum sentence of three years for rape, with a maximum of ten years absent special statutory circumstances. Zhao did not trigger special statutory circumstances, so a sentence of over ten years is unlikely. As a minor, Zhao should receive a lighter or reduced punishment, so a sentence of less than one year is indeed possible. Although the "Opinions on Punishing Sexual Assaults Against Minors" issued by the Supreme People's Court, Supreme People's Procuratorate, Ministry of Public Security, and Ministry of Justice stipulates that causing a minor victim to contract a sexually transmitted disease should be punished more severely, first, whether "contagious disease" is a "sexually transmitted disease" is unclear in the report. For example, hepatitis B, a contagious disease, can be transmitted sexually but is not considered an STD. Second, the interplay between "minor suspects should receive lighter or reduced punishment" and "causing a minor victim to contract an STD should be punished more severely" in determining the sentence remains within the prosecutor's discretion. However, the author reiterates that they would never believe Zhao could be sentenced to less than one year in prison, and thus would never apply conditional non-prosecution to Zhao. The author does not believe the prosecutor in this case acted unlawfully, but this is a typical example of "white leftism," with misplaced maternal compassion!

 

[1] Mark this! Is it possible for Li Tianyi to be granted conditional non-prosecution? If the victim in this case was indeed infected with a sexually transmitted disease due to rape, does this constitute the circumstance of "causing other serious consequences" under criminal law, which should result in a sentence of ten years or more in prison?

 

[2] Li Tianyi has been classified as committing gang rape, with a statutory minimum sentence of ten years. Although Li Tianyi is a minor, it is absolutely impossible for his sentence to be reduced by two levels, leading to a sentence of less than one year. Therefore, Li Tianyi will definitely not be eligible for conditional non-prosecution. Compared to Zhao, Li Tianyi is not unjust at all. In practice, only when rape causes the victim or their family members to commit suicide or suffer mental disorders is it considered to constitute "rape causing other serious consequences" under criminal law. Even whether "rape causing pregnancy constitutes other serious consequences" is highly controversial, let alone infection with a sexually transmitted disease due to rape. In my opinion, if the infection is with HIV due to rape, it should be deemed as causing serious consequences, with a starting sentence of ten years or more; if it is only a common STD, the sentence should be heavier within the range of less than ten years.

 

[3] Mark this! It's not the god-like opponent you fear, but the pig-like teammate. The Lushan Court and the prosecutor in this case were ruined by their own publicity department!

 

[4] Even if the Lushan Court made a conditional non-prosecution decision in this case, it would certainly generate significant public opinion, but it is not absolutely unreportable. Moreover, placing power in the sunlight and accepting supervision by the people is itself an inherent part of building a socialist rule-of-law society. However, the press release should not have been written this way, and the title should not have been set like this!!! The court's publicity department should first tell the public what conditional non-prosecution means and its applicable circumstances, then analyze why the state established this measure and the sentencing standards for rape, and finally praise themselves. Following this approach, even if there is still great controversy (frankly, such a case cannot avoid controversy), it would still be better than immediately singing their own praises while being vague about the case details, causing nationwide uproar and public outrage, creating a mess, and ultimately having to awkwardly retract the article.

 

[5] Finally, borrowing a line from Wu Jingzhong, the head of the Military Command Tianjin Station in the TV series "Lurking," to evaluate the Lushan Court: "I wanted to show my face, but ended up showing my ass."