Chapter 152 - 100: Court Opens! Debate

All three parties were ready.

So now...

It was time for the trial to begin!

At that moment, everyone in the courtroom fell silent.

Even the crowd of reporters outside, huddled by the door to eavesdrop, held their breath and perked up their ears, straining to catch every wisp of sound seeping through the crack.

In this tense atmosphere...

"Alright."

A voice rang out.

On the judge’s bench.

The presiding judge, Zhang Bingxin, didn’t waste any time. He stood up immediately, materials in hand.

"This case was initiated by the public prosecution agency, the Lusen City People’s Procuratorate, which filed public charges with this court on November 21st, 2002."

"In accordance with relevant regulations, the First Criminal Tribunal of the Lusen City Intermediate People’s Court is hearing this case."

"On December 28th, 2002, the second hearing of the first instance was held, after which the court was adjourned due to ’facts remaining in dispute, requiring further verification.’"

"Now, the facts have been verified and are no longer in dispute. The court accepts them into evidence."

"The Lusen City Intermediate People’s Court now reconvenes this trial in the year 2002, in the Second Tribunal, to continue the examination of this case."

"I now declare..."

As he spoke, Zhang Bingxin paused for a moment. The next second, a powerful voice boomed from his throat.

"Court is now in session!!!"

The trial had begun...

Everyone’s heart tightened. They furrowed their brows, steeling themselves to face the proceedings with solemn gravity.

Zhang Bingxin turned his head and looked at the bailiffs.

"Bailiffs on duty, bring the defendants into the courtroom!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a moment later, several bailiffs escorted three people in prison uniforms into the courtroom.

These three... were none other than Liu Jingqi, Jiang Yu, and Qiao Wang!

Jiang Yu and Qiao Wang’s faces were pale. They looked around, their breathing growing shallow. It was obvious they both expected a verdict to be delivered in this hearing...

As for Liu Jingqi...

Unlike her previous arrogance and nonchalance, the Liu Jingqi of today was ashen-faced with bloodless lips. She was like a limp noodle, practically dragged into the courtroom by two bailiffs holding her up.

At the defense table, their lawyer, Zhang Wei, was filled with mixed emotions upon seeing this, and the pressure on his shoulders felt even heavier.

A moment later, the three of them were seated together in the center of the trial area.

"Presiding Judge, the defendants are in place," a bailiff reported.

The instant the words were spoken...

"BANG!"

The sharp crack of a gavel sounded.

On the bench, Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin struck the gavel. He turned his head toward the prosecution.

"To the prosecution, the hearing has now begun."

"This session is a continuation of the hearing on December 28th. Does your side have any new evidence to present?"

At the prosecutor’s table, Huang Shi frowned, lost in thought. After a moment, he shook his head.

"Presiding Judge, the prosecution has no objections and no new leads to present as evidence."

They had no new evidence, nor any new charges to add.

Everything that needed to be said and done had been covered in the previous two hearings. Even if he had personally gone to Lianshan County and spent some time there, he wouldn’t have found any new, useful evidence.

So...

"Our position remains the same as it was before the adjournment," Huang Shi stated.

On the judge’s bench, Zhang Bingxin nodded, not at all surprised by this. He then paused briefly and turned to look at the plaintiff’s agent’s seat.

Looking at Xu De, who was seated there, his brow furrowed slightly as he spoke again:

"To the plaintiff’s agent, does your side have any new evidence to present?"

As he finished speaking, Xu De shook his head. "We do not. No objections."

He had already submitted everything he needed to. The one piece of evidence he’d held back had been revealed by Huang Shi, so he had nothing left to present now.

However...

"Are you certain?"

Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin suddenly pressed him again, saying:

"To the plaintiff’s agent, presenting evidence at the last minute during a trial is considered a ’trial by ambush.’ The court has the right to downgrade the weight of your evidence."

"If you have evidence, please present it now."

Xu De was silent.

Normally, a court wouldn’t ask this. It was common knowledge, making the statement completely redundant.

But this was clearly not a normal situation.

"We are certain we have no further evidence," Xu De said, shaking his head.

Seeing this, Presiding Judge Zhang Bingxin gave him a long, deep look before finally turning to the defense table.

"To the defense, in response to the prosecution’s statements before the adjournment, does your side... have any objections to state!?"

When he finished speaking, everyone in the courtroom focused their attention, dozens of pairs of eyes landing on Zhang Wei.

The case was proceeding in a very orderly manner. The prosecution and the plaintiff’s agent had no further comments. If the defense had no objections either...

Then the three judges could deliver a verdict right then and there!

However...

"Our side..."

At the defense table, the lawyer Zhang Wei took a deep breath. He met everyone’s gaze, braving the pressure, and said in a heavy voice:

"Our side objects!"

At his words, Zhang Bingxin paused, then nodded. "Please state your objection."

Hearing this, Zhang Wei stood up and took another deep breath. His haggard face tensed for a moment before he slowly began to speak:

"Your Honor, members of the judiciary."

"Our objection is not to rebut the charges, but rather... to contest the determination of partial liability concerning the deceased, ’Zhao Li.’"

"In the indictment submitted by the prosecution, our clients, Liu Jingqi, Jiang Yu, and Qiao Wang, were accused of causing the death of the victim, ’Zhao Li,’ through negligence."

"But..."

"We contend that for the death of the ’victim,’ Zhao Li, the defendants bear no criminal liability."

At the defense table, Zhang Wei spoke slowly. For the past few days, he had felt like a man drowning in a vast ocean, feeling that no matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t escape the abyssal maw waiting beneath the waves.

But even a cornered animal will fight back.

Even in this desperate situation, Zhang Wei had to put up a fight!

And so, he had found a few angles. Although they couldn’t overturn the guilty plea or get the three of them a sentence of just a few years, if he succeeded... he could at least save their lives!

And one of those angles...

Was Zhao Li!

"The deceased, ’Zhao Li,’ was not killed by the three defendants."

"According to the documents submitted by the medical examiner, it is clearly shown that there were no traumatic injuries on the surface of the deceased Zhao Li’s body. This indicates that the defendants had no physical contact with her."

"Her true cause of death was a ’cardiogenic thrombosis,’ a condition resulting from years of strenuous physical labor!"

Zhang Wei’s voice was a bit hoarse, but his tone carried a note of unwavering certainty, as if daring anyone to question him.

He stated:

"And this type of illness, in layman’s terms, is what’s known as a ’human time bomb.’"

"In other words,"

"During the incident, Zhao Li’s death was caused solely by the explosion of this ’cardiogenic thrombosis’ bomb inside her body, which led to sudden death when she did not receive timely and proper medical treatment!!!"

"During this period,"

"The three defendants never had any direct contact with her!"

The circumstances surrounding Zhao Li’s death were highly debatable.

She had no direct contact with the defendants, but her death was, in fact, related to them.

But even if it was related, according to the hospital’s evaluation, Zhao Li herself was at high risk for sudden death. Even without the defendants’ involvement, Zhao Li could have died at any time.

Therefore...

"We believe,"

"That regarding the death of ’Zhao Li,’ our clients’ actions were, objectively, ’non-volitional’ and ’unintentional.’ Therefore, they do not constitute the crime of ’negligent homicide.’"

"According to Article 16 of the Dongguo Criminal Law, the original text clearly states:"

"’An act that, while objectively causing a harmful result, does not stem from intent or negligence, but is instead caused by irresistible or unforeseeable factors, is not a crime.’"

"In summary,"

With that, Zhang Wei paused, then stated his ultimate objective.

"The defendants should not bear criminal liability in the matter of ’Zhao Li’s’ death."

"Based on Article 16 of the Criminal Law,"

"It should be considered..."

"’An accidental death!’"

What was the difference between an accidental death and negligent homicide?

The difference was a single word: crime!

The former meant innocence; the latter meant guilt!

Guilt meant a sentence, it meant prison. Innocence meant none of that.

This case was so grave because, on the surface, Liu Jingqi was responsible for four lives, especially since the crime of intentionally murdering Yang Jiale was undeniable.

They had even already pleaded guilty regarding the matter of Yang Jiale!

But...

If the liability for Zhao Li’s death could be broken down... then there was room for argument.

’In other words... he’s planning to accept the major charge but overturn the other liabilities to get a reduced sentence, and thereby prevent the defendants from shouldering all the blame?’

The next second...

"Objection!"

From the plaintiff’s agent’s seat, Xu De suddenly spoke up. He looked at Zhang Wei at the defense table, his eyes narrowing as he said flatly:

"We do not accept the defense’s claim of ’accidental death.’"

"The defendant Liu Jingqi clearly demonstrated subjective negligence, fully meeting the criteria for ’negligent homicide’ under Article 233 of the Criminal Law. Furthermore, due to her malicious intent and the special circumstances of the case, she should..."

"Face a stricter and more severe criminal sentence!"