Chapter 46 Section 46

With the cooperation of the discipline inspection department, the Anti-Corruption Bureau's investigation of the 48 bribe-takers exposed by Su Afu went relatively smoothly. In the face of conclusive evidence, the twelve cadres who took bribes, including Zhou Xiuli, accused them of "August 13 "The facts of bribery and dereliction of duty in the fire case confessed.However, due to Su Afu's report covering a wide range of people and involving many people, the bribery behavior of many bribe recipients occurred many years ago and has no direct relationship with the fire case.Ye Zijing, the party group of the court, and the procuratorial committee of the court carefully studied and reported to the municipal party committee and municipal legal committee, and decided to deal with these cases that had nothing to do with the fire.These include the bribery case of Li Dawei, deputy director of the Municipal People's Congress, and two other deputy city-level leading cadres.

On November 15, 2001, the "August 13" extraordinarily large fire case officially opened for trial.Given the importance of the case and its wide-ranging impact, many unpredictable and complicated situations may arise during the trial.Ye Zijing came to the front line of the prosecution in person, and together with Gao Wenhui, director of the prosecution department, and other nine people appeared in court as a national public prosecutor to support the prosecution.It should be said that this prosecution lineup is relatively strong, and it has never been seen in the history of prosecutions by the Changshan City People's Procuratorate.But the lineup of defendants is even stronger. Apart from Zha Tiezhu and Su Afu, there are as many as thirty-five criminal suspects involved in dereliction of duty, abuse of power, and bribery. Each defendant hired one or two defense lawyers according to the law. The defense group is as high as sixty or seventy people.The trial court of the Municipal Intermediate People's Court cannot accommodate so many people, not to mention many people will come to observe, so we had to choose another suitable court venue.After choosing and choosing, the people's stage that the city government often uses for meetings has been selected.

When the trial venue was confirmed, Gao Wenhui whispered to Ye Zijing, saying that the People's Stage can accommodate 1,200 people for a meeting, and I don't know how many people will come to observe the trial of the case.There are so many dereliction of duty cadres and dereliction of duty units involved in this case, it is inevitable that some people will make trouble during the trial process. It is suggested that Ye Zijing come forward to communicate with the court to control the number of observers.Ye Zijing did not accept this suggestion. Instead, she gave the remaining 20 audit tickets from the Procuratorate to the City Management Committee—Liu Maocai, the director of the City Management Committee's office, said that the City Management Committee should send more comrades to observe and receive education.

It was only later that I learned that there were quite a few comrades from the Urban Management Committee who came to "receive education". There were more than 80 people who formed a booing square in the auditorium, clearly supporting Zhou Xiuli, the former leader in the dock. On November 15, when the court opened, there were 900 people who attended the hearing, and the seats were basically allocated according to the unit.When Ye Zijing led the prosecutor Gao Wenhui and seven other national prosecutors to the public prosecution stand, she felt an invisible pressure: she did not expect that the departments of urban management, industry and commerce, urban construction, public security, fire protection, taxation, cultural market management, etc. More than 300 cadres were all dressed up to attend the trial. I don't know if they had colluded with each other beforehand?Recalling afterwards, Ye Zijing also said that what she felt at the time was that what she was facing was not only the defendants in the dock and the large group of lawyers, but also a force—a force that resisted her and the procuratorate. .

Fortunately, many representatives of the families of the victims came that day, more than 500 people.Although these representatives were not organized, their arrival, the eagerness and anticipation in their eyes gave her confidence and strength.After sitting down on the seat of the first public prosecutor in the public prosecution stand, Ye Zijing noticed that the old lady Qi whom she had visited before also came, and sat in the middle seat in the first row of the auditorium in a daze.In Ye Zijing's eyes, physical evidence No. 0211 appeared in time - Mrs. Qi's charred and blackened ten-year-old grandson. She thought in her heart, if anyone dares to risk the world today, they must fight against the legal facts here. Let's have a contest, then ask him to stand up and try!

Few people jumped out openly, but obvious hostility filled the entire trial process.The court debate under the cover of this hostility was full of unprecedented gunpowder, which opened Ye Zijing's horizons again. On the first day of the trial, the public prosecutor requested to play a pre-produced 3D animation explanatory film in order to vividly explain the process of the fire and the relevant situation of the illegal front room.In the dock, the two lawyers hired by Zhou Xiuli immediately objected, saying that this might induce the trial judge to make a wrong judgment.Gao Wenhui, on behalf of the public prosecutor, refuted that the trial could not be held at the scene of the Da Fuhao fire. The internal structure of the Da Fuhao Entertainment City is complicated, and the illegal building in front of the gate has been demolished. It is difficult to accurately state the facts without 3D animation for restoration.

Among the two lawyers hired by Zhou Xiuli, one is from the provincial capital. His surname is Liu and he is very famous.The well-known lawyer Liu pointed out the virtual nature of virtual electronic productions, arguing: "If such virtual electronic productions can also be used as a means of presenting the case, then TV dramas featuring fictional features can also be used as evidence. !" Lawyer Liu asked Gao Wenhui sarcastically, "Why don't you elaborate a TV series to explain the case?" As soon as Lawyer Liu finished speaking, there was a warm applause from the auditorium.

Ye Zijing noticed that the applause mainly came from the "educated" phalanx formed by urban control uniforms. Gao Wenhui, who has been through the battlefield for a long time, was not confused by Lawyer Liu, nor was he affected by the applause. He reminded the presiding judge that the virtuality of electronic productions and the authenticity of the fire process are two completely different things. The pictures are only to illustrate the real case, and are not intended to be used as evidence.The evidence used will be on-site video and related witness and physical evidence, and the public prosecutor will submit it to the court in a subsequent trial.

The presiding judge knew it well, exchanged glances with several judges around him, and ruled that the lawyer's objection was invalid. Unexpectedly, as soon as the presiding judge finished speaking, there was a burst of mocking boos from the urban management phalanx. The presiding judge was enraged by this blatant contempt. Amidst the boos, he pointed to the urban management phalanx in the public gallery and warned: "Please be quiet and abide by the rules of the court, otherwise, please leave immediately!" Perhaps it is due to the large number of people, the law does not blame the public, right?The boos from the urban management phalanx did not stop.Liu Maocai, director of the Office of the Urban Management Committee, stood up from his seat, looked at Zhou Xiuli in the dock from time to time, pointed to the presiding judge and shouted openly: "Presiding judge, is there a defendant missing in your dock? Fang Qingming is in the dock." where?"

Fang Qingming's corruption crime has nothing to do with the "August 13" fire case, so it has been decided to transfer it to the Bell Tower District for another case, but the presiding judge has no obligation to explain, so he stood up and instructed the bailiff to say, "Expel this person in the gallery! " Two bailiffs immediately walked up to Liu Maocai and said, "Please, your audit qualification has been revoked!" Instead of leaving, Liu Maocai sat down on his seat carelessly: "What? What? Let the state officials set fires and not allow the people to light lamps? There is only one defendant missing in the dock, and he is also a corrupt element!"

The two bailiffs didn't pay attention at all, they set up Liu Maocai and walked outside, regardless of how Liu Maocai struggled. Several urban management cadres surrounded them, put on smiling faces to prevent the judicial police from enforcing the law, and the order in the auditorium was chaotic. The court obviously anticipated this situation in advance, and there were a lot of bailiffs that day.At this time, more than a dozen bailiffs ran over in time, and hurriedly drove out the four urban management cadres surrounding Liu Maocai. Before Liu Maocai was dragged out, he was still yelling recklessly: "I want to testify on behalf of Director Zhou Xiuli that our Director Zhou was framed by the corrupt Fang Qingming! Our Director Zhou is a good person, a very good person..." Zhou Xiuli in the dock was encouraged and even waved to Liu Maocai and the urban management phalanx. Although the court took compulsory measures to expel Liu Maocai and four other bystanders, the hostility from the urban management phalanx has not been eliminated.It's just a different form of hostility, no longer expressing it with boos, but with eyes.Ye Zijing and Gao Wenhui noticed that the city management phalanx cast somber and terrifying gazes on their prosecution bench.The eyes on the other uniformed phalanx were also mostly unfriendly, and some officers and soldiers of the fire brigade had obvious sarcasm on their faces. Before Ye Zijing appeared in court, she and the comrades in the Prosecuting Office thought about the pressure and backlash from the malfeasance unit, but they never thought that the pressure and backlash would be so great.Liu Maocai would openly jump out and make a scene in the court!What is the dignity of the law?What is the legal concept of the cadres of these dereliction of duty units?This is too much! In the depressing silence, Ye Zijing obtained the presiding judge's consent, and spoke slowly, first to the presiding judge's seat, and then to the public auditorium: "Presiding judge, comrades, as the national public prosecutor, today We, the People's Procuratorate of Changshan City, in accordance with the provisions of the "Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China", prosecute the thirty-seven suspects in the "August 13" fire case here in this solemn court, fulfilling the legal obligations entrusted to me and The sacred duty of the Changshan City People’s Procuratorate. But what did I see here? I saw the resistance and hostility of some comrades, and I saw some people defying the court and the law, openly complaining for the criminals in the dock!” Attorney Liu immediately raised his hand and objected again: "Presiding Judge, according to the principle of presumption of innocence in our country, the public prosecutor used the title of criminal to my client, which is unacceptable to my client!" The presiding judge affirmed the objection and reminded: "Prosecutor, please use the name of the criminal suspect!" It was only then that Ye Zijing realized that she had made a technical error in her impulsiveness. After making a promise to the presiding judge, she calmly spoke again, but diverted the topic elsewhere: "Just now, in certain units, certain comrades When booing loudly, I suddenly remembered an incident, a bloody incident that occurred during the Cultural Revolution turmoil: In August 1966, amidst the slogans of red terror, the legal system collapsed and the world was in chaos. The chairman's civil rights are no longer guaranteed. In that August, in the capital of our Republic, in Daxing County, Beijing, some insane guys openly buried a group of so-called citizens with bad backgrounds alive in broad daylight. The child's grandmother was pushed into the pit, and the murderers used shovels to fill the old woman and the child with soil. The ignorant child said, "Grandma, squint your eyes!" The old woman said, "Son, close your eyes, and you will be gone soon." squinting..." The court was extremely quiet all of a sudden, and countless pairs of eyes turned to Ye Zijing, obviously shocked by this bloody historical scene.Even Lawyer Liu, who has been chasing after the prosecutor, did not raise any objection because his remarks had nothing to do with the case. Ye Zijing didn't go into details, and brought the topic back to today: "This matter seems to have nothing to do with today's trial, but after thinking about it, it still has something to do with it! The law must be respected as it should be, and any unit or individual has the right to uphold it. Responsibility and obligation of the dignity of the law! Don’t think that this kind of historical tragedy will not repeat itself. If the legal system collapses and the world is in chaos, all of us here may become the old grandma and children buried alive, and this kind of lawlessness will fall to us Everyone's head!" Looking at the urban management phalanx in the auditorium, Ye Zijing said again, "You comrades, don't get it wrong, don't think that I, the chief prosecutor, and the Changshan City People's Procuratorate are going to fight against someone, even if I Replace me, change to another procuratorate, these defendants will still be sent to the dock! Our law must take responsibility for punishing crimes and protecting the legal rights of citizens! Let me ask some of you comrades, when you are suspected of dereliction of duty When the leader of the crime called for grievances, did you think about the 156 victims who died in the fire? If these victims were your parents, wives and children, would you still boo at the public prosecutor's seat? Where is your conscience! " A warm and just applause finally rang out, most of the applause came from the seats of representatives of the families of the victims. Afterwards, the trial proceeded normally.The three-dimensional animation elaborately produced by Gao Wenhui and the comrades in the Prosecution Division was played on the spot according to the request of the public prosecutor. A thrilling catastrophe and the entire process of causing the accident and starting the fire were vividly reproduced in front of the presiding judge and everyone.The 3D animation restored the scene of the illegal facade blocking the rescue of fire trucks, and there is almost no difference with the video of the "August 13th", which left the eloquent lawyer Liu speechless.Although the hostility from various units of dereliction of duty has not been completely eliminated, Ye Zijing and the public prosecutor still firmly grasp the initiative of the trial...