One of the sedans used for "porcelain collision"
Porcelain collision is a trick specifically designed to defraud money. It is said that during the late Qing Dynasty, in order to extort money, some people deliberately held porcelain fakes and mingled into bustling markets and crowds. When they saw someone who wasn't paying attention, they would bump into them, causing the porcelain to fall and break on the ground, then demand compensation at the price of a genuine antique porcelain item, thus giving rise to the term "porcelain collision." Nowadays, such misfortunes occur more frequently to car owners, and in places like Guangzhou and Beijing, there have even been cases of organized gangs engaging in "professional porcelain collisions."
On March 22, the Yuzhong District People's Procuratorate prosecuted 39 individuals involved in Chongqing's first and one of the rarest cases of sedan "porcelain collision" for endangering public safety by dangerous means.
Inspired by a minor accident, they began colluding to engage in "porcelain collision"
A member of the gang, Liao Yusheng, confessed that once while driving straight, his car collided with another car changing lanes. This accident was just a minor scrape, but after the traffic police assessed responsibility at the scene, they determined that the car changing lanes was fully responsible for the accident, and as a result, he received 500 yuan in compensation.
"It seems this could be a way to make money!" Inspired by this accidental traffic accident, Liao Yusheng began conspiring with Xia QinFu, Xie Biao, and others, utilizing the traffic rule that "vehicles changing lanes must yield to vehicles traveling straight," specifically targeting vehicles changing lanes on main roads to manufacture traffic accidents and obtain money.
According to the prosecutor handling the case, Liao Yusheng and others did not own private cars; all the sedans used for their crimes were rented from car rental companies. In order to obtain more compensation, they gradually upgraded from renting ordinary sedans like the Santana to mid-to-high-end sedans like Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
In two months, they scraped 14 times, with the highest compensation nearing 20,000 yuan
On April 17, 2009, Xie Biao and his accomplices drove a sedan and, while traveling straight under the Xinpaifang overpass in Yubei District, deliberately scraped against a car changing lanes, causing a following two-wheeled motorcycle to rear-end it. The motorcycle driver, Su, and his wife were injured, costing over 6,000 yuan in medical expenses, while Xie Biao and his accomplices profited 3,670 yuan from the car accident.
The prosecutor handling the case explained that after committing a "porcelain collision," the gang generally received compensation in the thousands of yuan. As the rented cars became increasingly luxurious, so too did the compensation they received, with the highest amount being on February 23, 2009. At around 3 a.m. that day, Liao Yusheng and an accomplice, driving a luxury sedan on the Cai Dian Center section of Shiqiaopu in Jiulongpo District, Chongqing, deliberately collided with another vehicle changing lanes, creating a traffic accident where the other party was fully responsible. As a result, the other party and the insurance company paid nearly 20,000 yuan for the accident.
Subsequently, Liao Yusheng and others continued driving the same car and successfully committed "porcelain collisions" in two other locations. The prosecutor stated that within a month, it was considered few if a car had only two or three "traffic accidents;" many vehicles had five or six "accidents" within a month, with one record-breaking sedan having 14 scrapes in two months, including two in one day.
Unable to find cars to collide with, they ended up "colliding" with themselves
The prosecutor said that this group was so obsessed with money that when they couldn't find cars to collide with, they resorted to "colliding" with themselves.
After the incident, a suspect surnamed Shen confessed that he and an accomplice, feeling there hadn't been much "business" recently, decided to "set up a scene and let you help me out this time."
Before the collision, Shen parked a pickup truck in the middle of the road, and the car designed to be "porcelain collided" was a Toyota Reiz sedan. They specially replaced the Reiz car's headlights with already damaged ones before the collision. After the two cars collided, the scene on the road showed the pickup truck being fully responsible. After the collision, they immediately called the police, and when the traffic police arrived, Shen voluntarily admitted that his pickup truck was fully responsible. Seeing no controversy between the parties involved, the traffic police issued an accident liability determination letter. Subsequently, they used the liability determination letter to claim compensation from the insurance company.
The head of the investigation team, Zhu Wenjing, said that this group also had unsuccessful attempts. Once, three members of the gang collided with an unlicensed motorcycle, and after proposing a private settlement, the motorcycle owner actually brought along a group of tough men. Seeing that they were outnumbered and couldn't fight back, the three had no choice but to flee.
Serious consequences of the crime, endangering public safety
Prosecutor Luo Hui said that based on existing evidence, the members of the "porcelain collision" gang were mainly unemployed individuals from districts and counties such as Jiangjin and Bishan. Starting from January 2008 until the case broke in July 2009, they committed 428 offenses, defrauding numerous drivers and over ten insurance companies of over one million yuan.
Evidence shows that the main activity range of the "porcelain collision" gang was in the main urban areas of Chongqing and in far-flung suburban counties such as Rongchang, Bishan, Wanzhou, and Fuling, as well as in Sichuan and Hubei provinces. When committing crimes, they colluded with some auto repair shop mechanics, replacing original equipment components with already damaged ones before going onto the main roads to commit "porcelain collisions."
The prosecutor believed that the motive behind the gang's criminal activities was to defraud or extort money from the opposing driver and the insurance company. However, in order to gain these illegal benefits, they held an indirect intentional attitude subjectively and objectively adopted methods that endangered public safety, manufacturing traffic accidents and jeopardizing the lives and health of an unspecified majority. Their actions are suspected of endangering public safety by dangerous means.
For example, on February 9, 2009, gang member Xiong Yonghong conspired with Rong Qiao and Wei Daiqiang to drive a sedan in Dazu County and deliberately collide with a car changing lanes, causing the car to lose control and crash into a normally traveling two-wheeled motorcycle ahead, resulting in the motorcycle driver being injured and costing several thousand yuan in medical expenses, while they profited over 4,000 yuan.
The indictment was 113 pages long and contained over 60,000 words
Due to the complexity of the case, the large number of suspects, the high frequency of offenses, the significant amount involved, and the cross-regional and provincial nature of the offenses among the gang members, after accepting the case, the Yuzhong District People's Procuratorate immediately formed an investigation team led by Zhu Wenjing, with Luo Hui, Li Jianzhou, Chen Zhongxing, Cai Wenjun, and other officers as members.
Faced with 108 volumes of case files transferred by the public security organs, over 100 interrogation records of the 39 suspects, hundreds of witness and victim inquiry records, identification records, insurance company compensation materials, compensation invoices, lease contracts, liability determination letters, and other substantial evidence, the investigation team initiated a "one person one form, one matter one certificate" model, meticulously reviewing and carefully organizing each piece of evidence. Through the hard work of the prosecutors, they prepared a review report over 550 pages long and containing over 350,000 words, as well as an indictment 113 pages long and over 60,000 words, promptly prosecuting the case.
Five characteristics of "porcelain collision"
After careful analysis, the investigating prosecutor identified five prominent features of this case:
The method of operation was the same: using the provisions of the Traffic Safety Law Implementation Regulations regarding responsibility allocation for lane-changing vehicles, deliberately crashing cars to create artificial traffic accidents where the other party is fully responsible, thereby claiming compensation from the other party or the insurance company; in choosing the location for the offense, it was generally on the main roads of multiple districts and counties in Chongqing, and mostly multi-lane roads where lane changes were possible, some even on highways; in selecting targets, they were relatively fixed, with the vast majority being vehicles with out-of-town license plates; a large number of people were involved, often two or three to four members collaborating on crimes; the division of spoils after the fact was relatively unified, with the renter receiving 70%, the "driver" (also known as the "killer") 20%, and the "substitute" (who impersonates the real driver responsible for handling compensation matters, claiming compensation from the other party or the insurance company) 10%.
Not violating traffic laws is the best way to avoid "porcelain collision"
"The 'porcelain collision' perpetrators often use the legal provision that 'lane-changing vehicles must yield to vehicles traveling straight' to commit crimes." The investigating prosecutor said that the suspects in this case relied on this provision to deceive others. When other cars change lanes, they often suddenly accelerate and rush over, causing the front of their car to collide with the rear side of another car. From the arrangement of the scene, it appears that the other car affected the normal traveling vehicle and should bear primary responsibility. If it was during peak traffic hours, the "porcelain collision" perpetrator might add threats, and the driver of the hit car would often spend money to avoid trouble and settle the matter by paying compensation. Therefore, we remind all drivers to turn on the lane-change signal according to regulations and confirm that there are no oncoming vehicles in the adjacent lane or that the distance is safe before changing lanes.
"In the event of a normal scrape, the driver gets out of the car first to check which parts of their car are damaged and occasionally complains about the other party, whereas 'porcelain collision' perpetrators usually do not act this way. Instead, they take advantage of the driver's fear of trouble by proposing a private settlement and extorting money." The investigating prosecutor reminds drivers that after a traffic accident, they should promptly report it to the police and never privately settle the matter, taking photos as evidence with a camera or mobile phone. Additionally, most "porcelain collision" perpetrators choose to act when the driver is committing a violation, so "the best way to avoid 'porcelain collision' is to not violate traffic laws."
"Driving without focus, looking around, smoking, and making phone calls can easily give 'porcelain collision' perpetrators opportunities." The investigating prosecutor emphasized that developing good driving habits, avoiding illegal driving, not driving aggressively, and staying away from suspicious vehicles will ensure that no matter how skilled the "porcelain collision" performers are, they won't succeed.