Azhen was misled by others to work in a casino at the market of Leqing Village, Dainan, Nanhai. She was arrested 9 days later and still did not realize that she had violated the criminal law. Yesterday, the juvenile court of Nanhai Court publicly announced the verdict of this case of opening a casino. The judgment was attached with legal articles and judge's words to help juvenile delinquents admit their guilt and submit to the law.
Working in a Casino for 9 Days to Treat Her Mother and Getting Arrested
At the end of 2008, "Uncle Ba" (separately handled) opened a casino at a pork stall in the market of Leqing Village, Dainan, Nanhai District, Foshan City. He attracted people to gamble by playing poker in the form of "three public" big eating small and obtained illegal benefits by "taking water" (collecting commission).
Later, "Uncle Ba" employed four people including Azhen as staff for the casino and paid them 50 yuan per day as wages. Among them, Liu Moujun, Zhong Moujia, and Tan Mouliang were mainly responsible for keeping watch and maintaining order in the casino; Azhen was mainly responsible for dealing cards and helping the boss collect commissions, collecting about 1,000 to 3,000 yuan per day.
On January 15, 2009, the police destroyed the casino and caught the above-mentioned four defendants and many gamblers on the spot, seizing a total of 157 yuan in gambling funds and collected commissions.
The Nanhai Court ruled that the behaviors of Azhen, Liu Moujun, Tan Mouliang, and Zhong Moujia in issuing cards, "taking water", and watching out in the casino constituted the crime of opening a casino. The prosecution agency's charge of the four defendants committing the crime of opening a casino was established. Therefore, Azhen was sentenced to five months of detention and fined 1,000 yuan according to law; the other three were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of six to seven months respectively and each was fined 1,000 yuan.
After the announcement of the verdict, the presiding judge also read the judge's words and relevant legal articles appended after the verdict to the four defendants. At this point, Azhen suddenly realized: working in a casino constitutes a crime!
When leaving the courtroom, Azhen and her mother cried bitterly together. "If I knew it was a crime, I would absolutely not follow them to do it!" Azhen cried to the reporter. Because her mother has been in poor health for years, her father lost a lot in business two years ago, and the family economy fell into difficulties. To reduce the burden on her parents, Azhen dropped out of school to work in 2006. On January 6 this year, she entered the casino through the introduction of a former coworker. "I thought doing things here was bad, but I didn't expect it to be illegal and lead to imprisonment." Both Azhen and her mother admitted that they lacked legal knowledge, and the relevant legal articles written in the verdict could help parents and children better recognize their own mistakes.
Relevant: Questionnaire Survey Shows Juvenile Delinquents Are Mostly Confused
Judge Liu of the juvenile court said that the juvenile court of Nanhai Court conducted a survey of some juvenile offenders detained in the detention center of Nanhai District through a questionnaire. It was found that they had weak legal awareness, and after the verdict, they did not deeply understand their behavior, but showed strong willingness to learn relevant knowledge of criminal law.
In response to this situation, the juvenile court of Nanhai Court adopted a new format of judicial documents, "judgment + legal articles + judge's words". After the judgment, the judge's words and legal articles are appended, integrating "interpretation of law, analysis of reason, and expression of emotion" to promote juvenile offenders to recognize their mistakes and reform themselves.
It is understood that since the implementation of this measure in March this year, the juvenile court has noted the articles and words in 11 cases, achieving good results. The doubts of juvenile offenders about the verdict have significantly decreased, and the number of juvenile trial appeal cases has also significantly reduced. Juvenile offenders deeply reflect on their behavior when receiving education and reform in the detention facility and are more actively cooperating with the reform.