Northeast Network, January 11th, 2012 - In 2011, the courts in Harbin City concluded 5,571 criminal cases including those severely endangering public security and disrupting market economic order, sentencing 7,217 people to various terms of imprisonment. The court reviewed major criminal cases settled over the past year and published eight significant criminal cases from 2011. Among these, ten individuals were sentenced to death, two received suspended death sentences, four were sentenced to life imprisonment, and eighteen were given fixed-term imprisonments.
One case involved a village secretary with alleged ties to organized crime who was sentenced to twenty years in prison. Defendant Dan Guibao served as the Party Secretary of Changchan Village in Shuangcheng Town from 1981 to 1998 after being discharged from the army. From 2000 until his arrest, Dan used threats, intimidation, and even retaliatory actions to ensure that his nephew and second son held leadership positions in the village. During his tenure, he secretly controlled the operations of the village committee. Alongside his sons Dan Wenjun and Dan Wenpeng, and village cadres Mei Yaqing and Zhao Guoqing, they recruited social loafers Liu Jian, Mei Hairui, Kang Guoliang, Yang Hailong, and others, gradually forming a "family-style" organized crime group with characteristics of a mafia. Dan Guibao was the organizer and leader of this gang, while Dan Wenjun, Dan Wenpeng, Mei Yaqing, Zhao Guoqing, Liu Jian, Mei Hairui, Kang Guoliang, and Yang Hailong were active participants. This criminal organization, based on the Changchan Village Committee in Shuangcheng Town, engaged in illegal detention, intentional harm, provoking troubles, extortion, forced transactions, and mass brawls through violence, harassment, and destruction to dominate the area, monopolize operations, and illegally amass wealth. Their activities severely disrupted the daily lives of local residents and the economic order of the region.
The final verdict by the city court found Dan Guibao guilty of organizing and leading a mafia-like criminal organization, illegal detention, intentional harm, forced transactions, and provoking troubles. He was sentenced to twenty years in prison, deprived of political rights for three years, and fined 10,000 yuan. Other members such as Dan Wenjun, Dan Wenpeng, Mei Yaqing, Zhao Guoqing, Liu Jian, Mei Hairui, Kang Guoliang, Zhang BaoHua, Bi Shujun, and Li Jiaxun were sentenced to terms ranging from nine months to eighteen years.
Another case involved the entrapment of foreign women into "international marriages," where Vietnamese brides were coerced into marrying against their will. Defendants Zhang Zhiming and Ma Liang (separately handled) conspired to profit from introducing Vietnamese women to marry Chinese men. In March 2010, Zhang met defendant Zheng Shuwen, and they agreed to bring Vietnamese women to Tonghe County for arranged marriages, charging fees in return. Between April and June 2010, Ma Liang hired translator Jiang Junming to bring 26 Vietnamese women in three groups to China under tourist visas. Zhang brought them to Harbin, where Zheng's son Zhang Bo housed them at the Kyoto Hotel in Tonghe County. Zheng used her Tengda Information Service Bureau to attract local men for marriage arrangements. Eight Vietnamese women who did not find suitable partners were threatened and intimidated by Zhang Zhiming, Jiang Junming, Zheng Shuwen, and Zhang Bo, who also confiscated their passports. Six women were forced to register marriages with local men, and Zheng charged each groom 55,000 yuan, totaling 330,000 yuan. Zheng retained 10,000 yuan from each groom, and the rest was split among Ma Liang, Zhang Zhiming, and Jiang Junming.
On June 24, 2010, several Vietnamese women reported the incident to the police. Subsequently, Zhang Zhiming, Jiang Junming, Zheng Shuwen, and Zhang Bo were arrested in Bayan County, Tonghe County, and Harbin City.
In the first-instance judgment by the city court, defendants Zhang Zhiming and Zheng Shuwen were convicted of trafficking women and sentenced to fifteen years in prison with a fine of 200,000 yuan. Defendants Jiang Junming and Zhang Bo were also convicted of trafficking women and sentenced to ten years in prison with a fine of 100,000 yuan.
Other cases included a heavily pregnant woman attempting to rob a jewelry store and committing murder but being captured inside the locked shop, three individuals robbing and killing single women resulting in two death sentences and one life sentence, and a dispute over a drainage ditch leading to the murder of four people from two families. Additionally, there were cases involving former convicts returning to crime, engaging in drug trafficking, and taxi drivers turning to robbery and murder after losing money gambling. All these cases resulted in severe punishments including death sentences, life imprisonments, and long-term imprisonments, reflecting the judiciary's firm stance against serious crimes.
The final verdicts highlighted the judicial system’s commitment to justice and the rule of law, ensuring severe punishment for grave offenses.