Two hikers jailed for drilling rock bolts into Giant Python Peak
[4] Compiled from: Red Star News
On September 2, the Supreme People's Procuratorate released the 29th batch of guiding cases, including the widely publicized civil public interest lawsuit against Zhang and two others for intentionally damaging Sanqingshan's Python Peak.
Case review
On April 15, 2017, Zhang, Mao, and Zhang climbed Python Peak in the Sanqingshan Scenic Area, using electric drills to bore holes, driving rock bolts, and laying ropes to ascend to the top. It is reported that Python Peak was certified in 2017 as the "world's tallest natural python peak," a non-renewable rare natural resource asset and a sustainable natural heritage with significant scientific, aesthetic, and economic value.
On-site investigation revealed that Zhang and others drove 26 rock bolts into Python Peak from bottom to top. The public security agency commissioned an expert panel to assess that the 26 steel rock bolts, being metallic substances, would directly induce and exacerbate the physical, chemical, and biological weathering of Python Peak. At its narrowest point (approximately 7 meters in diameter), at least four rock bolts had been driven in, creating new fissures that would accelerate the erosion of the granite column and potentially cause its disintegration. The rock-bolt climbing actions of Zhang and the other two caused permanent damage to Python Peak, undermining the naturalness, originality, and integrity of the natural heritage.
In October 2017, Zhang Moumou and two others were transferred for prosecution by public security authorities on suspicion of intentionally damaging scenic spots and historic sites. On December 26, 2019, the Shangrao Intermediate People's Court issued a criminal judgment, finding Zhang Moumou, Mao Moumou, and Zhang Mou guilty of intentionally damaging scenic spots and historic sites. Zhang Moumou and Mao Moumou were sentenced to one year and six months of imprisonment respectively, fined 100,000 yuan and 50,000 yuan respectively, while Zhang Mou was exempted from criminal punishment.
Article 324 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China
Whoever intentionally damages precious cultural relics under state protection or cultural relics designated as national key cultural relics protection units or provincial cultural relics protection units shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention, and shall also, or shall only, be fined; if the circumstances are serious, the sentence shall be fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years, and a fine shall also be imposed.
Whoever intentionally damages scenic spots and historic sites under state protection, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention, and shall also, or shall only, be fined.
Whoever negligently damages precious cultural relics under state protection or cultural relics designated as national key cultural relics protection units or provincial cultural relics protection units, causing serious consequences, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention.
[1] The author's perspective
Because the Giant Python Peak of Mount Sanqing carries special relic value and extensive public interest, the damaging acts of Zhang Moumou and the other two not only harmed the ecological environment but also infringed upon the environmental rights and interests of unspecified members of the public. Knowing that the law prohibits damaging scenic facilities, the three intentionally engaged in destructive climbing behavior, causing irreparable severe damage and significant negative impact, as well as accelerating the major risk of mountain collapse. Moreover, the three engaged in premeditated planning and mutual cooperation during the act, meeting the constitutive elements of joint crime, and should bear full responsibility for the part under the law.
This case, as a guiding case issued by the Supreme People's Procuratorate, has two significances in my view. First, it serves as a warning to those who damage natural scenic spots and historical sites. Second, it provides a method for estimating the loss value of damaged natural scenic spots, namely by referring to the contingent valuation method recommended in the former Ministry of Environmental Protection's "Recommended Methods for Environmental Damage Identification and Assessment (2nd Edition)" and the "General Guidelines for Technical Guidelines on Ecological and Environmental Damage Identification and Assessment." Regarding the first point, this case comprehensively uses criminal and public interest litigation judicial means to increase the illegal and criminal costs of such destructive acts, which can reduce damage by those who "leave their marks" and also benefit the protection of scenic spots and historical sites. Regarding the second point, this case provides a method for assessing and calculating loss value for such cases, which has a substantive promoting effect on future judicial procedures.
