The small advertisements distributed by the prostitution gang
awaiting these defendants will be severe legal punishment.
"The girls have to pay a deposit of 8000 yuan, and if the contract expires early, it will be deemed as voluntarily abandoning the deposit. In case of physical deformity, they should be available at any time. If they do not comply, the boss can impose arbitrary fines on them. Every time they receive payment for prostitution, they cannot conceal it; otherwise, for every one unit concealed, ten units will be penalized," said a flame photometer.
"This is a contract signed between the 'boss' and the 'girls'.
"I am too naive, and under the temptation of money and environment, I did this. I hope the court can give me a chance to start anew." Said Wang Hong, the 'girl' who disguised herself as a virgin with pig blood sponge. Yesterday, the trial of Kunming's largest prostitution organization case in recent years ended in Xishan Court. The 'bosses' and 'girls' all requested lenient sentencing from the court. And the 9 account books that appeared in the court even revealed that the organization had obtained as high as 228.29 million yuan in prostitution revenue in just five years. The court did not announce the verdict immediately.
Is "blood supplier" Old Huang guilty?
Yesterday's trial progressed much faster than the previous day. All other 18 defendants pleaded guilty except for Old Huang who supplied the "pig blood". He denied his guilt in court, claiming he didn't know that the pig blood was being used by the 'girls' to disguise themselves as virgins. Therefore, whether Old Huang is guilty has become a focus of attention.
Old Huang had previously stated in several police records that he would stir and remove tendons from the pig blood he bought, then add iodized salt, and finally fill non-coagulating "virgin blood" into small cola bottles, which he would sell to the Gu brothers for use in prostitution activities, earning him around 6,000-7,000 yuan annually. "Because there's money to be made, I bought it for the money. Both myself and my son were responsible for delivery."
"The evidence collected by the public security organs is illegal, and we request the court to exclude this evidence," Old Huang's defense lawyer pointed out. The pig blood found at Huang's house cannot be confirmed as the pig blood provided to the Gu family, and furthermore, "it's just ordinary pig blood, it cannot be determined as specially treated." Besides, he and the Gu brothers did not share a common criminal intent, and current evidence cannot prove that he knowingly provided pig blood for the prostitution organization. "The pig blood he provided, at most, assisted in prostitution, but it was not assisting in organizing prostitution, and did not have an actual impact on the prostitution organization." They believed Old Huang was not guilty.
In response to this, the prosecutor argued that based on the long-term, regular provision of specially treated pig blood, it was impossible for Old Huang not to know it was being used for prostitution. Moreover, the police found bottled pig blood at Old Huang's home as well as at the homes of the Gu brothers, with the same "packaging".
"The actual amount did not reach 20 million yuan"
During the trial, nine account books were revealed, which were seized by the police at Gu Laoer's home. These books recorded the prostitution activities of the gang from the end of 2005 until last year when they were investigated, including each transaction amount and countless phone numbers of clients. Shockingly, the total prostitution revenue recorded in these books amounted to 228.29 million yuan. The accounts kept separately by Gu Laoda, Zhou Li, and Zhou Zhi showed prostitution revenues of over 3.43 million yuan, 360,000 yuan, and 3.373 million yuan respectively.
"The actual amount isn't that high!" Gu Laoer said that sometimes the 'girls' failed to complete transactions, but still recorded it before leaving, and the actual amount received was often lower than what was agreed upon beforehand. Gu Laoda also claimed that among the amounts he recorded, part of the 3.43 million yuan was expenses, not profit.
The prosecutor also presented evidence showing that the Gu brothers used their prostitution earnings to buy luxury housing and cars. Several main defendants' cars, properties, and shops have already been seized, and whether these are illegal assets awaits court verification.
Gu Laoer emphasized repeatedly that although these properties are registered under his name, some were purchased with his own money. The Magotan car was bought with previous savings, while the QQ car was bought after winning money from mahjong and given to his wife.
Gu Laoer's defense attorney, Tian Dazhi from Yunnan Lingyun Law Firm, stated that cases without successful transactions should be excluded from the account books, and the prosecution should verify each item individually, determining which transactions were arranged by Gu Laoer and which account books were brought back by the 'girls' from elsewhere. Multiple defense attorneys believed that the account books contained repeated entries and could not be entirely recognized as illegal transactions, and the content was ambiguous, with specific amounts not verified.
The account books were legally seized, indicating that the organization had engaged in prostitution activities, but not all funds were recognized as illegal gains. The account books also show how the proceeds were split, which could be considered as evidence of the organizers and prostitutes splitting the spoils," said the prosecutor.
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Several "bosses" plead for leniency for their wives
"She was only responsible for cooking, she didn't do anything else. It was all me making her do it! She actually opposed what I was doing." Yesterday, the five male defendants led by Gu Laoer all requested the court to lighten the sentences for their wives, stating that they only handled the cooking and did nothing else wrong.
Gu Laoda's wife sobbed loudly in court, saying she had three young children to take care of. Gu Laoda's wife said: "I ask the court to let me take care of my children and parents, and when the children grow up, I will come to serve my sentence!"
In his final statement, Gu Laoer emphasized that in 2005, he had thought about organizing prostitution activities, but it indeed only started in 2007, and he and his brothers operated independently, without interfering with each other. He hoped the court would investigate clearly.
"I am too naive, and under the inducement of money and environment, I did this. I hope the court can give me a chance to start anew." The prostitutes all claimed that due to their low level of education, young age, and poverty at home, they were deceived by the lure of money and special circumstances, leading them down the path of crime. They hope the court will lighten their sentences.
The defense attorneys for the prostitutes said that they mainly came to Kunming looking for good jobs, with poor social cognition, and were lured into prostitution and then tricked others into joining them due to being blinded by money. They were merely tools used by the organizers to engage in prostitution, with relatively minor subjective malice, and did not cause significant adverse effects on society. "Given their deep remorse, we suggest the court primarily focus on education and probation."
Defense Attorney: Hope for a sentence not exceeding 5 years
All 18 defendants admitted their guilt, and the next issue was how to determine their sentences.
Gu Laoer's defense attorney believed that although he organized multiple people to engage in prostitution, there was no coercion involved, so it cannot be equated with the situation of forcing multiple people to engage in prostitution. There is insufficient evidence to prove what level of hindrance his criminal behavior caused to social management order, therefore, his criminal circumstances do not meet the standard of "serious circumstances in organizing others to engage in prostitution," meaning he does not warrant a sentence of more than ten years.
The defense also stated that Gu Laoer voluntarily confessed to his crimes, had a good attitude towards admitting guilt, and had the circumstance of self-surrender, so he should be legally punished less severely. His motive for committing the crime was mainly due to his family's poverty, making it hard to earn money through legitimate business, which led him to organize prostitution. Furthermore, during the crime process, all the prostitutes involved were over 18 years old and participated voluntarily. Thus, Gu Laoer's subjective malice was relatively small, and the social harm was minimal.
Additionally, the defense emphasized that although many defendants in this case have admitted guilt, there are numerous evidentiary flaws or improprieties in the evidence supporting the establishment of the charged offenses. Both Gu Laoer and his wife were interrogated for times exceeding the legal 12-hour limit. Given their low educational levels, there were instances of proxy signatures and pasting in the interrogation records, and the court should consider lighter sentencing accordingly. Considering that the three Gu brothers all have young children, if their parents go to prison, the children will be left unattended. The defense hopes the court will preserve living conditions and necessary living expenses for the children, sentencing Gu Laoer to five years in prison.
Other major defendants' defense attorneys also recommended that the court impose a lighter sentence below five years in prison. The court did not announce the verdict immediately.