"Liu Qiao still hasn’t appeared, and there are still fifty minutes before the court session starts."
"It’s a bit boring, being stared at by so many people. It always feels a bit uncomfortable."
"..."
Zhang Qingyuan and the others huddled together, unable to help but murmur.
This was Su Yongnian’s first ti in a courtroom. He wasn’t as relaxed as Zhang Qingyuan and those old hands. He was completely tense, looking left and right and curiously examining everything around him.
"AHEM, keep your voices down, or you might be expelled from the courtroom later." Qin Mu, his face grim, couldn’t help but remind them.
Old Zhang and the others were chatting in hushed tones, but there were simply too many of them. The gallery was packed full. Their collective voices were quite noisy, making the courtroom sound like an early morning vegetable market.
「At nine-fifty.」
The courtroom door opened, and bailiffs escorted Liu Qiao in from the direction of the detention room.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Qingyuan and the others’ expressions brightened.
"That person must be Liu Qiao, right? Finally, we get to see him in person."
"Old Su, take a look. Is that the boss who sold you the dicine?"
"See that? This is what happens when Xiao Qin sets his sights on you!"
"Today, we’ll see his performance. I hope he doesn’t disappoint us."
"Even if he can’t surpass ng Lei, he should at least get half the sentence ng Lei did, right?"
"..."
The crowd whispered, pointing at Liu Qiao and sizing him up from top to bottom as if he were so sort of mascot.
And Liu Qiao, escorted by bailiffs to the defendant’s stand, was completely bewildered. Looking at the overcrowded gallery, he was suddenly dumbfounded.
What... what’s going on here? When did I get so many relatives I don’t recognize?
He was utterly confused. Usually, the people sitting in the gallery were family mbers. And today was the second hearing of his case, with him as the only defendant. This ant those in the gallery should have been his family mbers.
But... he didn’t recognize any of these people.
What was outrageous was that these people seed very familiar with him, calling out "Liu Qiao" and "Wanantang" as if they knew him well.
Who... who on earth are these people?
He swallowed hard and couldn’t help but glance at the defense lawyer beside him. This lawyer’s na was Zhang Kuang, a high-priced attorney he had hired for one million yuan. This lawyer had even guaranteed he could overturn the judgnt on appeal and get him acquitted.
"Probably just spectators," Zhang Kuang said casually, glancing at the gallery. "Court is about to start. Rember to do as I told you. I’ve made all the necessary arrangents. If everything goes as expected, you’ll definitely be acquitted."
Hearing this, Liu Qiao collected himself, his expression turning serious. He had gone to great lengths for this opportunity, determined to turn the tables at all costs. For this, he hadn’t hesitated to pay the high price of one million yuan. And this lawyer was also very confident, claiming he could get him acquitted.
...
「CRACK—」
「At ten o’clock sharp.」
The Judgnt Chief, accompanied by all mbers of the collegiate panel, entered the courtroom. The solemn sound of the gavel rang out.
The Judgnt Chief looked down at everyone and declared in a deep voice, "Today, Jincheng Interdiate Court will officially open the public trial of Liu Qiao on charges of money laundering and bribery. I will be serving as the Judgnt Chief..."
Following that was the reading of the court’s rules of discipline.
「Five minutes later.」
The reading of the rules was complete.
The Judgnt Chief looked towards the prosecutor and solemnly stated, "Prosecutor, please make your statent. Read the indictnt regarding Liu Qiao’s alleged money laundering and bribery, and present the prosecution’s case."
As soon as he finished speaking, the two prosecutors from the Procuratorate exchanged glances, and one of them stepped forward.
Holding the indictnt, he read in a solemn voice, "Liu Qiao, owner of Wanantang Pharmacy, bribed Doctor Han Dongting of Sanhe Hospital multiple tis during his period of business operations. The cumulative amount was over 10 million yuan. Furthermore, this sum of over 10 million yuan underwent money laundering procedures, being transferred repeatedly through illegal accounts in an attempt to evade surveillance. After being convicted in the first trial, he refused to accept the verdict. During his appeal for a second trial, represented by his lawyer Zhang Kuang, he successively bribed personnel connected to the Procuratorate and the court in an attempt to escape legal punishnt.
"Based on the aforentioned actions of the defendant, Liu Qiao, our office requests that Liu Qiao be sentenced to eighteen years’ imprisonnt and confiscation of all his assets.
"Additionally, we are filing an additional charge in this court session against Liu Qiao’s defense lawyer, Zhang Kuang, accusing him of inciting Liu Qiao to commit cris and of bribery, for which we demand a sentence of six years’ imprisonnt."
As he finished speaking, the entire courtroom suddenly fell silent.
At the defendant’s stand, Liu Qiao was utterly dumbstruck, completely stunned. He instinctively looked towards his defense lawyer. But he found that his own defense lawyer, Zhang Kuang, looked even more shocked than he did, apparently also caught off guard by this developnt.
"Lawyer Zhang, this... didn’t you say you took care of everything?" Liu Qiao gritted his teeth, forcing out each word, his face extrely grim.
This appeal... because of further bribery, his sentence had jumped from fourteen years and six months to eighteen years! His sentence had increased by three years and six months out of nowhere!
"But I did make the arrangents! I gave money to everyone I know! What’s going on...?" The lawyer swallowed hard, also completely flustered.
In his established view, as long as there was enough money, there was no problem that couldn’t be solved. Therefore, he had asked Liu Qiao for one million yuan and used several hundred thousand of it for bribes. He had thought that would be enough to smooth everything over. He never expected that the prosecutor would have obtained evidence and even add another charge against him in court!
User Comments
0 comments from readers