Internet celebrity Guo Meimei "returns to prison": once ran a casino, now sells drugs.

[4] Compiled from: Red Star News
 
Case review
On March 18, 2021, Shanghai police issued a notice confirming that Guo Moumou and 32 other suspects were criminally detained by Pudong police for producing and selling weight-loss foods containing prohibited ingredients. According to media reports, the suspect Guo Moumou is the internet celebrity "Guo Meimei." At that time, Pudong police seized over 65,000 toxic and harmful weight-loss health supplements, with the case involving over 50 million yuan. The weight-loss candies in this series of cases were found to contain toxic and harmful non-food raw materials explicitly banned by the state.

 
 

On August 13, Guo Meimei's mother Guo Dengfeng said in an interview with Red Star News that she did not previously know her daughter was selling weight-loss drugs containing banned ingredients. "She only sold them for a little over a month, and the total cost was just tens of thousands of yuan. She didn't know what ingredients were in the drugs at first," Guo Dengfeng said. "But selling is selling, and it's useless to regret it now."
 
On the same day, the case of Guo Meimei and others suspected of producing and selling toxic and harmful food was heard in the first instance at the Shanghai Railway Transport Court.
 
 
《 [1] The People's Republic of China 刑法》

Article 144  [Crime of producing and selling toxic and harmful food]
Whoever mixes toxic or harmful non-food raw materials into the food produced or sold, or knowingly sells food mixed with such raw materials, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years and shall also be fined; if serious harm is caused to human health or there are other serious circumstances, the sentence shall be fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than ten years and a fine; if death is caused or there are other especially serious circumstances, the punishment shall be in accordance with the provisions of Article 141 of this Law.

Article 65   [General recidivist]

A criminal who is sentenced to a punishment of fixed-term imprisonment or heavier, and who commits another crime that should be sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment or heavier within five years after the completion of the execution of the previous punishment or after receiving a pardon, is a recidivist and shall be given a heavier punishment, except where the crime is committed negligently or by a person under the age of eighteen.

 

Article 74 [Recidivists Not Eligible for Probation]

Probation shall not be applied to recidivists or ringleaders of criminal groups.

 

Article 81 Paragraph 2

For recidivists and criminals who have been sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of ten years or more or life imprisonment for intentional homicide, rape, robbery, kidnapping, arson, explosion, release of dangerous substances, or organized violent crimes, parole shall not be granted.  

 
 

[1] The author's perspective
In this case, Guo Meimei, knowing that the weight-loss candies she sold contained sibutramine, sold over 100 boxes and received over 70,000 yuan. According to Article 144 of the Criminal Law, Guo Meimei committed the crime of selling toxic and harmful food. Based on currently available information, Guo Meimei has not yet caused serious harm to human health or had other serious circumstances, so the sentence this time is likely to be fixed-term imprisonment of less than five years.
 
It is worth noting that Guo Meimei was previously sentenced to five years in prison for the crime of running a gambling den, with the sentence ending in July 2019. Therefore, this crime constitutes a new offense committed within five years. According to Article 65 of the Criminal Law, Guo Meimei is a repeat offender and should be given a heavier punishment. According to Article 74 and Paragraph 2 of Article 81 of the Criminal Law, repeat offenders like Guo Meimei are not eligible for probation or parole.
 
In the first 30 years of her life, Guo Meimei has been imprisoned twice for crimes, not only wasting her youthful years but also ruining her future. As early as 2019, when Guo Meimei was released from prison, she expressed her intention to turn over a new leaf, but she made a mistake again just two years later. Whether due to being too naive or because old habits die hard, she cannot escape the consequences of breaking the law. Hopefully, this time Guo Meimei can truly learn her lesson and live a good life when she returns to society, no longer harming herself or others.