The two began to argue about the money issue in the car, then moved on to emotional issues, and brought up breaking up again. In a fit of anger, Xiaolian drove straight to the police station. After arriving at the police station, Xiaolian told the police the entire course of events. Beside her, Xiaohao was immediately detained by the police. In the police station, Xiaohao's emotions were agitated. During the police interrogation, Xiaohao refused to return the money and threw the bank card into the toilet and flushed it away. Only after being persuaded by the police and Xiaolian did Xiaohao call his friend and ask him to return the money.
On April 13th, after Xiaohao completed the transfer of funds, he took the opportunity of going to West Auto City with Xiaolian to look at cars to tell her that he had withdrawn money from her account. The man withdrew 99,800 yuan from his girlfriend's passbook without her knowledge, and later informed her that he had taken the money, saying he planned to buy a car. The girlfriend demanded repayment, but the boyfriend refused. In the argument, the girlfriend drove the man directly to the police station for resolution, leading to the man being criminally detained by the police on suspicion of theft.
Xiaohao's parents stated that their son had taken part of the deposit from Xiaolian's account without consulting her during their romantic relationship. If he really intended to embezzle Xiaolian's money, he wouldn't have only taken part of the deposit and later informed Xiaolian voluntarily. At that time, Xiaohao planned to use the money mainly for purchasing a car they had agreed to buy before the end of the year. This should be considered as a financial dispute between lovers. On February 24th, Xiaolian called Chengdu Business Daily, stating that she had already broken up with Xiaohao after the incident. Before the first trial, she had done her best and no longer wished to comment further on the case. Xiaohao's defense lawyer for the second trial, Attorney Aishu Hong from Sichuan Zhigao Law Firm, revealed the defense strategy for the second trial. Attorney Ai hoped that on the basis of recognizing the self-surrender circumstances, the second trial would fully consider various sentencing factors such as Xiaohao's return of stolen goods, obtaining the victim's understanding, being a first-time offender, and having a simple motive, and legally overturn the verdict.
According to Xiaolian's statement, around 2 PM that day, Xiaohao said in Xiaolian's car that he had withdrawn 100,000 yuan. At that time, Xiaolian didn't believe it because the bank card was always with her, so she didn't pay attention. An hour later, Xiaohao mentioned again that he had indeed withdrawn 100,000 yuan and wasn't lying. Subsequently, Xiaolian prepared to verify at the bank but was persuaded back into the car by Xiaohao.
After returning to the car, Xiaohao took out the passbook and told Xiaolian that the money was withdrawn through the passbook. Later, Xiaolian confirmed through the bank that the money was indeed missing. Since Xiaolian had previously asked Xiaohao to help withdraw money multiple times, Xiaohao knew the passbook password. Xiaolian then asked Xiaohao to return the money and indicated that if he returned it, she would not pursue the matter further. However, Xiaohao refused, claiming that once he took the money, he didn't plan to return it, and intended to use it to buy a car and help his sister with school.
Xiaolian thought this was the end of the matter and went outside the police station to buy cigarettes for Xiaohao. When she returned, she found that Xiaohao had been handcuffed by the police. Subsequently, the police detained Xiaohao in the detention center. On April 14th, Xiaohao was criminally detained by Shuangliu County Public Security Bureau on suspicion of theft. Afterwards, Xiaohao's friend quickly transferred the money back to Xiaolian.
On October 8th, 2010, Shuangliu County Procuratorate prosecuted Xiaohao for theft, and Shuangliu Court made the first-instance judgment on January 7th, 2011. The court ruled that Xiaohao's actions constituted theft, sentencing him to 10 years in prison and a fine of 10,000 RMB. (The parties involved are pseudonyms.)
After the first trial, both Xiaohao and his parents believed that the sentence was too severe, and have appealed to Chengdu Intermediate People's Court.
Shuangliu Court's first-instance ruling held that although Xiaohao and Xiaolian were in a cohabitation relationship, Xiaohao still did not have the right to manage or arrange Xiaolian's deposits. His act of secretly taking cash from Xiaolian's bank passbook without her knowledge and keeping it for himself constituted theft. Considering Xiaohao was a first-time offender, the stolen money has been recovered, and the victim has forgiven him, the court gave a lighter punishment in the sentencing.
Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, on April 18th and May 13th, Xiaolian separately submitted petitions to the public security organs and the procuratorate, stating, "I have been in a romantic relationship with Xiaohao for over a year and planned to register our marriage when Xiaohao turned 22... Going to the police station was to let the police mediate our lover's disputes, not to pursue Xiaohao's criminal responsibility..."
Chengdu Business Daily learned yesterday that regarding this matter, Shuangliu Court recently ruled that although the two were in a cohabitation relationship, one party still did not have the right to manage or arrange the other party's property during cohabitation. His act of secretly taking cash from the other party's bank passbook without their knowledge and keeping it for himself constituted theft. The man was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined 10,000 RMB.
Due to the car purchase issue, the boyfriend quietly withdrew 99,800 yuan from his girlfriend's passbook. He later informed her of the fact, saying he planned to buy a car. The girlfriend requested repayment, but the boyfriend refused. In the argument, the girlfriend drove the man to the police station, leading to the man being criminally detained by the police on suspicion of theft. Shuangliu Court's first-instance ruling held that the man's actions constituted theft, sentencing him to 10 years in prison and a fine of 10,000 RMB.
The money was returned to the woman the next day, and she also submitted a petition stating that going to the police station was just to resolve the romantic disputes and not to pursue criminal responsibility. Currently, the man is dissatisfied with the first-instance judgment and has appealed to Chengdu Intermediate People's Court.