A hundred-yuan recharge card that could be recharged repeatedly gave Chen Mingying and Rao Jintao the feeling of "a windfall from heaven," but it also pushed them both into court. Yesterday, when the two sat on the defendant's bench at the Panlong Court for the third time, after multiple investigations and trials, Chen Mingying stated in court: "I hope the court makes a judgment as soon as possible; we can't hold out much longer!"
During the trial, he revealed that he had been hospitalized for mental illness.
Yesterday at 9:50 AM, Chen Mingying and Rao Jintao entered the courtroom handcuffed one after another. During this time, Chen Mingying was scanning the audience, trying to find relatives. Most of the time, Rao Jintao kept her head down, looking slightly haggard.
Previously, the prosecution claimed that between January and March 2007, defendants Chen Mingying and Rao Jintao used 7 recharge cards to illegally recharge a fixed telephone in their store located in Sanzhu Ying Village, Jinchen Street Office, Panlong District, Kunming City, accumulating an illegal recharge amount of over 13,000 yuan. The prosecution further alleged that during the same period, the defendants lied to public telephone operators, claiming they could provide discounted phone credit services, resulting in an illegal recharge of 2,471 public telephones totaling over 400,000 yuan. In February 2008, the case went to trial, with both husband and wife sentenced to 13 years in the first instance. They appealed, and the Kunming Intermediate People's Court ruled that the facts were unclear and the evidence insufficient. On April 30th this year, the case was retried in the Panlong Court.
In yesterday’s trial, similar to the first and second hearings, Chen Mingying and Rao Jintao still insisted that their illegal profits were only more than 30,000 yuan, not the 440,000 yuan charged by the prosecution. However, this time, Chen Mingying requested in his final statement that the court make a decision quickly: "We really can't hold out any longer! I hope the court will give a reasonable verdict as soon as possible." Chen Mingying's defense lawyer Liu Huale also revealed that Chen Mingying had been admitted to the Huangtu Slope Psychiatric Hospital in 2002 due to mental illness and requested the court to conduct an evaluation.
Prosecution: Suspicious 1.6 million deposit
During yesterday’s trial, the prosecution pointed out that when Chen Mingying and Rao Jintao were arrested by the police, the police found two bank cards carried by Rao Jintao. Between February 6 and March 21, 2007, these two bank cards had a total of 160,000 yuan deposited, but this 160,000 yuan was withdrawn on March 23, 2007.
The prosecution said: "Between February 6, 2007, and March 23, 2007, Chen Mingying and Rao Jintao had a transaction amount of 160,000 yuan. Please note the time period, which is exactly the time when Chen Mingying and Rao Jintao conducted illegal recharges. This 160,000 yuan was withdrawn on March 23, 2007, and on April 4 of the same year, Chen Mingying and Rao Jintao were arrested by the police. The 160,000 yuan deposit on the two bank cards under Rao Jintao's name was the result of illegal recharging."
The prosecution presented a new piece of evidence in court, namely the lease agreement for the communication store operated by Chen Mingying and Rao Jintao. It showed that the lease agreement was signed in 2006, which conflicts with Chen Mingying's claim that he started operating the communication store in 2003.
Defense Lawyer: Requesting Shortened Trial Time
Yesterday, while presenting the defense opinion, Chen Mingying's defense lawyer questioned the humanity of the defendants being tried in handcuffs, and subsequently, the presiding judge ordered the removal of the handcuffs from the two defendants.
The defense lawyer believed that the communication store's lease agreement was irrelevant to this case. "There are procedural issues in this case. Since the two defendants have a child, after both were sent to the detention center, no one has taken care of him. We request the court to shorten the sentencing time and make a judgment as soon as possible, reflecting the humanitarian aspects of the law. The exact amount involved in the illegal recharges of Chen Mingying and Rao Jintao is either 30,000, 160,000, or 440,000 yuan, but the evidence is still insufficient. As for the 160,000 yuan deposit and withdrawal by the parties, it was because they not only operate the communication store but also engage in other businesses. Large sums of money entering and exiting were due to the need for capital turnover. I believe that the current evidence cannot support the prosecution's claims."
Rao Jintao's defense lawyer argued: "The reason the lease agreement was signed in 2006 was due to some promotional activities at the time. Not signing before 2006 does not mean they did not operate the communication store. According to relevant regulations, supplementary investigations should be limited to twice, but the public security organs have already conducted four supplementary investigations on this case, dragging out the litigation time. The prosecution should have sufficient evidence when initiating the lawsuit for the first time, rather than asking the public security organs to conduct supplementary investigations after the defense lawyer presents new viewpoints."
After deliberation, the court decided to announce the verdict at a later date.
By reporter Yang Yaqi