Chapter 386: Lawyer Fang, why is the suspended sentence gone?

Every case has a Statute of Limitations, whether it is a civil or Criminal Case, and the law has clear provisions regarding the Statute of Limitations for cases.

In fact, some people cannot understand the existence of the Statute of Limitations.

Especially for the Criminal Case Statute of Limitations; once the Statute of Limitations has passed, one can no longer pursue the other party's criminal responsibility. What does that mean? It means that as long as the other party hides until the Statute of Limitations passes, they have escaped legal sanctions.

That certainly cannot be understood that way; after all, as long as a Criminal Case has undergone Case Filing, it will not be subject to the restrictions of the Statute of Limitations.

As for a Criminal Self-Prosecution Case, there is generally a five-year Statute of Limitations.

That is to say, as long as your evidence is sufficiently adequate, you can initiate a Private Prosecution for Internet Violence within five years!

It has been two years since Wang Zhengnan was subjected to Internet Violence; this is not a short amount of time.

Perhaps even Xiang Yuyu, and many of the people who originally subjected him to Internet Violence, have already forgotten that they once scolded such a person online.

Or rather, there are too many so-called "dog abusers" they have scolded, and they don't even remember it themselves.

It is just that Wang Zhengnan, whether in the past or the present, had never thought of a path like a Private Prosecution.

Now, the other party has shown such sincerity, and he has begun to hesitate.

And now, he has already made a decision!

They have explained everything to him clearly; he doesn't need to do anything, he only needs to provide evidence to file a Lawsuit.

As for the evidence, they will help collect it, and they also have a Lawyer; he only needs to file the Lawsuit.

Zhou Yi has always done things this way, never hiding or holding anything back.

He explains things clearly, explains the pros and cons, and leaves it to you to choose.

After all, if one really stands up to file a Lawsuit, it might cause some people to start Internet Violence again.

Of course, that is only a possibility; under such circumstances, if someone still really stands up to engage in Internet Violence, one can only say they have no brains.

After thinking it through, Wang Zhengnan dialed Zhou Yi's phone number.

"Is this Mr. Zhou? I accept your conditions. I will go to Jingzhou today. What do you think?"

"No problem. I will book the tickets. You can bring your children and family along; just consider it a trip. I will cover all expenses!"

Practice makes perfect; having had the experience of working with those elderly people before, Zhou Mouren is now quite adept at this.

Wang Zhengnan is just one of them; there are four others like him who were subjected to Internet Violence by Xiang Yuyu in the past but chose to endure it.

In fact, Wang Zhengnan had already hesitated for quite some time, while some people, as soon as they heard Zhou Yi was willing to help them file a Lawsuit, agreed immediately without saying a word!

Only those who have been subjected to Internet Violence can truly understand that feeling; these past one or two years are not enough for them to forget that experience.

All their personal information was published, and there was overwhelming abuse online, along with all kinds of phone and text message harassment.

Even their contact methods, such as WeChat, were found by people who added them as friends to insult them.

Honestly, like Wang Zhengnan, before he hit the dog, he really never thought things would develop into this.

His own child was bitten by a dog, so the father stood up and hit back; it felt quite normal.

However, the people who scolded him didn't see it that way; they said the dog was just playing with his son and didn't bite him at all.

Now, he can finally get a bit of justice!

Under these circumstances, several people began preparing with their family members; those with vacation time came directly to Jingzhou, and those without it rushed to ask for leave.

Three days later, at the Jingzhou City airport, Zhou Yi met Wang Zhengnan's family.

"Mr. Zhou, thank you so much. I never thought such a matter could still be taken to court." Wang Zhengnan looked at Zhou Yi in front of him, his face full of gratitude.

Although the other party said he was letting him help him, in reality, he was the one being helped by the other party.

It wasn't that he hadn't thought of it back then; many Lawyers online had given him advice.

But even if he had thought of it, he wouldn't have taken any action.

After all, as an ordinary person with a job, when facing overwhelming Internet Violence, how many have the time and energy to be so persistent?

Zhou Yi smiled upon hearing this and said, "Mr. Wang, there is no need for that. Actually, it is I who need your help."

"Alright, just stay in Jingzhou with peace of mind during this time. There isn't much to do; I mainly need you when it's time to file the Lawsuit."

Lawyer Fang has been full of enthusiasm during this period, truly full of enthusiasm.

It is hard to tell if he was provoked by those words on the internet.

Because after the Procuratorate filed a Protest and the case was sent for Retrial, many people said things like this online:

"Is this the lawsuit that Lawyer Fang handled? Just this? It was even Protested by the Procuratorate; how does he still have the face to call himself a great Lawyer!"

"Forget it, I think the Lawyer Fang you all praise is just so-so; he's just a litigation shyster, yet you've turned him into the embodiment of justice, right?"

After all, the legal profession is quite unique; some people were already a bit uncomfortable with the fact that "Lawyer Fang is called the embodiment of justice."

After all, Lawyers take money to do their jobs; being praised as the embodiment of justice is nothing to be proud of.

The consequence was that Lawyer Fang has been like someone injected with adrenaline during this time, trying his best to find evidence from back then.

And after Zhou Yi finished receiving these clients, he hurried back to Lawyer Fang's law firm; he is actually a bit confused now.

Half an hour later, Zhou Yi sat in Lawyer Fang's office.

"So you want to ask, how exactly should Xiang Yuyu's actions be categorized this time, right?" Lawyer Fang said while burying his head in his work.

"Yes, Lawyer Fang. I thought about it after I went back earlier; you said Xiang Yuyu's behavior counts as a continuous offense, so is it a repeat offense?"

New evidence might aggravate the other party's criminal punishment.

Now, these new pieces of evidence indeed all have such circumstances.

But, there is a question: what is the nature of this?

"It's simple. As I told you before, what are the situations that count as Serious Circumstances? Repeat offenses, Combined Punishment for Several Crimes, and many others, right?" Lawyer Fang raised his head and said.

"But this shouldn't be a Combined Punishment for Several Crimes, right? Combined Punishment for Several Crimes should involve many different charges, but she only has one."

"But if you say it's a repeat offense, that doesn't seem right either, because she hasn't received criminal punishment before..." Zhou Yi said, hesitating a bit.

This is the drawback of not having received systematic legal education; what he knows on a daily basis is all things Lawyer Fang told him during casual chats.

Lawyer Fang smiled: "Why wouldn't it count as Combined Punishment for Several Crimes? Look at her previous behavior; it doesn't just involve defamation!"

"Look here, using various methods to insult the other party, this is Insult, and here too, knowing full well it is false information, yet spreading it online in various ways, inciting trouble, causing serious destruction to online public order!"

"Then it should be convicted and punished as Picking Quarrels and Provoking Trouble in accordance with the provisions of Article 293, Paragraph 1, Item (4) of the Criminal Law."

"I won't even mention the others; with so many charges, on what grounds can it not be handled through Combined Punishment for Several Crimes?"

Zhou Yi was stunned.

Defamation and Insult, these two seem inseparable, but in reality, they are two distinct charges, and there is a distinction between them.

Of course, he hadn't even thought of the charge of Picking Quarrels and Provoking Trouble at all...

"Also, change your line of thinking; under what circumstances would our Private Prosecution charges like Defamation and Insult become a Public Prosecution?" Lawyer Fang continued.

"I told you to read more Judicial Interpretation and you didn't; among the situations stipulated therein, one of them is defaming multiple people, causing a vile social impact."

"Then you tell me, now that there is sufficient evidence, does Xiang Yuyu count as having defamed multiple people, causing a vile social impact?"

"After all, there is one person among them who was almost driven to suicide by Internet Violence back then!"

"This belongs to the 'situations that seriously endanger social order and national interests' stipulated in Article 246, Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Law, and requires a Self-Prosecution to Public Prosecution!"

Zhou Yi shut his mouth; he was still confused there, while Lawyer Fang here had already provided all sorts of paths.

But no matter which path is taken, Xiang Yuyu shouldn't even think about getting out again, and a Suspended Sentence is out of the question.

And there is a high probability it will be more severe than the previous verdict...

Lawyer Fang is still that same Lawyer Fang.

After a period of time, Lawyer Fang had already prepared all the evidence.

Zhou Yi then took Wang Zhengnan and four others and headed straight for the Police Station.

As long as it is a Public Prosecution Case, one can report the crime.

This time, Lawyer Fang chose a two-pronged approach: reporting the crime and submitting new evidence to the Court simultaneously.

As for what Zhou Yi had thought of before, letting these people initiate a Criminal Private Prosecution?

That is a bit too unsatisfying, and it requires Mediation, and what else; it's much better to go directly for Public Prosecution, it's refreshing!

Public Prosecution is always more direct than Private Prosecution; remember this point!

Anyway, the procedures of the Public Security Bureau, the Procuratorate, and the Court are all interconnected; let them handle it themselves when the time comes.

The high probability is that they will accept the report first, then suspend the retrial, wait for the procedures over there to be completed, and then conduct a combined trial.

Regarding an individual's criminal behavior, no matter how many charges you have, or how fancy you play it, it is all handled through a combined trial.

As for reporting to the police, of course, he still chose the Zhonglou Police Station he was familiar with.

Lao Zhou's hair had already fallen out in a circle, and now he had something of a Mediterranean look.

Having just finished handling a theft case today, he saw a certain handsome guy leading the way, followed by five timid-looking men, just barging in like that.

It scared Lao Zhou so much he almost wanted to call for backup.

Fortunately, looking at the bag on that handsome guy, it wasn't very big, so that was fine.

"Hello, Uncle Zhou!" Zhou Yi greeted from far away.

Wang Zhengnan and the others following behind were completely bewildered; what kind of place is this, this is a Police Station!

Isn't this President Zhou a bit too arrogant coming in like this...

However, hearing him call him Uncle Zhou, the few of them looked at each other and seemed to understand something.

Lao Zhou said helplessly: "You're here again, right? What is it this time? I'll tell you, we've been working too much overtime lately."

He paused and added: "Fortunately, your bag isn't that big."

Zhou Yi chuckled: "Uncle Zhou, it's not just me this time, there are them too."

After speaking, he turned back and signaled to Wang Zhengnan and the others, who then walked up one after another, took out their ID cards and other documents, and placed the evidence Lawyer Fang had collected on the table one by one.

One bag doesn't seem like much, but with six bags placed there, it felt a bit terrifying.

Lao Zhou's heart rate accelerated: "What is it again? Aren't you currently in a Criminal Private Prosecution?"

"Ahem, didn't some accidents happen? They were all defamed and insulted by Xiang Yuyu in the previous Internet Violence."

Zhou Yi pushed those bags and said: "This is all evidence, Uncle Zhou, please take a look."

Lao Zhou was already numb, truly numb.

He had never encountered such a flashy maneuver, but after reviewing the evidence and chatting with other police officers, he found that, it seems... there is no problem with the procedure!

Did the other party defame and insult them? Yes, and it already constitutes a crime!

But, because there is no prosecution without a complaint, it seems there is nothing to be done.

It is in a state of "Schrödinger's Crime"; no crime if not reported, but if reported... it also depends on the situation.

Furthermore, according to the Judicial Interpretation, this really does need to be transferred to a Public Prosecution, even if the earliest case was already two years ago.

But when someone presents sufficient evidence, you are required to initiate a Case Filing.

No need to say more, let's initiate a Case Filing and investigation; as it happens, Xiang Yuyu is still in the Detention House because of the Procuratorate's Protest and the Retrial, so she hasn't been released due to a Suspended Sentence, nor has she gone to prison due to the verdict.

This way, there's no need to run through procedures; she can be interrogated directly...

Because the Detention House is managed by the Public Security Bureau anyway.

This is too coincidental; could it all have been planned?

The internet was in an uproar, and Lawyer Zhang Wei was even more extremely well-prepared; he felt he now had a certain degree of certainty.

And under such circumstances, when he met with Xiang Yuyu once again, he discovered that the situation had changed.

"What? New evidence was discovered on Xiang Yuyu's side? Now the Public Security Bureau has already finished the investigation and it has entered the Review and Prosecution stage?"

How much time the investigation stage takes depends on how much time the evidence collection takes.

When the evidence has all been collected, what needs to be done is to conduct a reasonable review and ask the Procuratorate to review it.

The Procuratorate is probably also bewildered right now; they originally initiated a Protest because they felt the sentencing was too heavy, but who could have imagined that before the retrial even started, new evidence had already been discovered over there!

Others are going through the Court on one hand and reporting to the police on the other, taking two paths, as if they were afraid they might be ignored...

Let's set aside the evidence submitted to the Court for now, as this is a Private Prosecution Case after all.

However, if the Public Security Bureau has already initiated a Case Filing, then it is a different matter; investigation, Review and Prosecution, and court hearings are all mandatory stages.

Therefore, after the Procuratorate completes the Review and Prosecution, the Court takes one look and decides there is no need to deliberate; since it has to be retried anyway, they simply convert it into a Public Prosecution and consolidate all the circumstances of the opposing party for a joint trial.

Zhang Wei stood in the office, unable to utter a single word.

How could this be possible? How could there be new evidence?

The key is that the Private Prosecution Case has now been converted into a Public Prosecution, and the charges brought by the Procuratorate are not limited to just Insult.

There is also Defamation, and Picking Quarrels and Provoking Trouble...

Not only has the case suddenly become extremely complex, but the entire situation has undergone a massive change!

It is foreseeable that a Suspended Sentence is definitely off the table, and given this situation, the verdict might very well be three years of Fixed-term Imprisonment...

Just as Zhang Wei was thinking about what to do, the office door was kicked open!

"Zhang Wei, get out here! How did you talk to me? You said doing it this way would be beneficial, but now look, why are Yuyu's charges even more numerous than before after the Protest!"

"Come out and explain yourself!"

The voice was so loud that the other staff members of the law firm came out to ask about the situation, and they were all dumbfounded after learning what had happened.

Could such a thing actually be encountered?

Should one say that Lawyer Zhang has bad luck, or that his maneuvers were just too flashy?

It was originally a Suspended Sentence, but after a series of maneuvers, not only is the Suspended Sentence gone, but the six months of Fixed-term Imprisonment might just turn into three years!

"Mr. Xiang, this matter cannot be blamed on me; it wasn't me who said to file a Protest!" Zhang Wei walked out and defended himself.

He felt that his reputation was already ruined.

"Besides, whether or not a crime was committed is something your daughter did herself; that is not something I can decide!"

It would have been better if he hadn't said anything, but as soon as he did, Xiang Jinjun, who was opposite him, became even more furious, pushed aside several lawyers, and started attacking him immediately.

"I'm going to beat you to death, damn it!"

Only one chapter again today; I've been working overtime at the Company for both days of the weekend, and we have an epidemic here again...

Thanks to another newcomer, Wenchidage, Feimaowuyu, and Sony.

(End of this chapter)