Chapter 7 Plaintiff and Defendant (2)

  In the afternoon, more than 4 o'clock, in Director Zhao's office. Deputy Director Wu Gang, Director Yang Shan of the Legislative Affairs Department, and Director Zhao Yan of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Office, despite the fatigue of the trial and the hardships of long-distance travel, rushed back to Jiangnan City from Heishan City and immediately reported the detailed situation of this trial to Director Zhao at the first time.

  The law is fair, but the law needs to be enforced by people. In front of the law, everything speaks with evidence. If there is no evidence, you can't do anything even if you are right and the truth is clear; lawyers are the most unscrupulous profession, for the sake of their clients' interests, they often turn black into white, muddle their conscience, and prioritize their clients' interests above all else, making white seem black and black seem white.

  However, at 8:30 that afternoon, a case involving the theft of 5 million yuan from Jiangnan Property Management Co., Ltd.'s account at the Construction Bank's Heishan Liberation Road Branch using fake seals and chops was brought to trial. As the judge's gavel fell heavily, the First Trial Court of Heishan Intermediate People's Court officially opened its session. The atmosphere in the courtroom suddenly became solemn.

  The design and production of our country's gavel are very particular. The material of the gavel must be chosen from rosewood, which is hand-carved by folk craftsmen; the top end of the handle is carved with a unicorn head, which is an ancient ceramic beast used for "knowing the guilt of the accused, assisting in the trial"; the round and square base at the bottom symbolize "the combination of squares and circles, the combination of the principle and flexibility of the law"; the handle is carved with wheat ears and gears, indicating that "our country is a socialist state led by the working class, based on the alliance between workers and peasants".

  On the bench, the presiding judge and clerk were solemn; on the defendant's seat, Chen Siyuan, general manager of Sihai Love National Agricultural Products Deep Processing Co., Ltd. stood with two armed police officers behind him; on the plaintiff's seat, there were two Fang personnel, one was a lawyer entrusted by Jiangnan Zhengqi Property Management Co., Ltd., and Yang Shan, director of the Legal Affairs Department, and Dong Xin, deputy general manager of the property company. The other was a lawyer entrusted by China Construction Bank Heishan Branch and its representative.

  More than 20 people were seated in the audience, including Wu Gang, deputy director of Jiangnan Zhengqi Management Bureau, Zhao Yan, director of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Office, relevant personnel from the Construction Bank Heishan Branch, parties involved in the incident Shu Daming, Fang Jianjun, Fang Lihong, Zheng Qi Property Company's cashier Jing Fei, as well as Shi Jiangsheng, vice president of the Construction Bank Heishan Jiefang Road Branch, and staff members from Suyuan Aiguo National Products Deep Processing Co., Ltd.

  The trial of Chen Sihyuan, the general manager of Siyuan Aiguo Agricultural Products Deep Processing Co., Ltd. went very smoothly in court, with no doubts or objections raised. Chen Sihyuan himself and his defense lawyer admitted to the crime of privately carving fake seals, impersonating employees of Jiangnan Zhengqi Property Management Co., Ltd., and swindling 5 million yuan from the company's bank account.

  The court sentenced the defendant Chen Siyuan to life imprisonment for fraud, deprivation of political rights for life, and confiscation of personal property worth 3 million yuan. The illegal gains of 5 million yuan were recovered and returned to Jiangnan Zhengqi Property Management Co., Ltd. When the judge reminded Chen Siyuan that if he did not accept the court's judgment, he could appeal to the Jiangsu Provincial High People's Court within ten days from the second day after the judgment took effect. However, Chen Siyuan himself and his lawyer expressed their acceptance of the court's judgment and would not appeal.

  However, Zhengqi Property Company and the Hei Shan Branch of Jianhang Bank on Jiefang Road were involved in a fierce conflict. Zhengqi Property Company demanded that the Hei Shan Branch of Jianhang Bank be held liable for all losses; while the Hei Shan Branch of Jianhang Bank believed that Zhengqi Property Company had colluded with the criminal Chen Siyuan to defraud bank funds, and demanded that they be held legally responsible. The lawyers representing both sides engaged in a fierce debate on this issue in court.

  The property company said: "We opened a bank account at the China Construction Bank Heishan Liberation Road Branch, transferred funds into it, and the procedures were legal. The source of the funds was also legal. From a legal perspective, we are legitimate customers of the China Construction Bank Heishan Liberation Road Branch."

  China Construction Bank Heishan countered: "Zhengqi Property Company opened an account at the China Construction Bank Liberation Branch to provide funds to Chen Siyuan and obtain high interest, we believe that Zhengqi Property Company is not a legitimate user of the China Construction Bank Heishan Liberation Road Branch."

  Zhengqi Property Company stated: "Zhengqi Property Company opened a bank account at the Jianhang Bank Jiefang Road Branch, and a savings deposit contract relationship was formed between the two parties. This contractual relationship is voluntarily signed by both parties and is legal and valid."

  Jianhang Bank Heishan Jiefang Road Branch rebutted: "Zhengqi Property Company opened a bank account at Jianhang Bank Heishan Jiefang Road Branch at the request of the criminal Chen Siyuan. The opening of the bank account was not its true intention, and the savings deposit contract is invalid. Zhengqi Property Company is not a legitimate customer of Jianhang Bank Heishan Jiefang Road Branch."

  Zheng Qi Property Company stated: "The bank staff was negligent and did not scrutinize carefully, or colluded with the criminal Chen Siyuan, which led to the criminal using a fake seal to transfer the deposits from Zheng Qi Property Company's bank account. This is the key factor in the successful fraud by the criminal. According to Article 6 of the Commercial Banking Law of the People's Republic of China, commercial banks should protect the legitimate rights and interests of depositors from any unit or individual infringement. Now, the Hebei Bank Heishan Liberation Road Branch has not fulfilled its obligation to protect Zheng Qi Property Company's deposits, it should bear full responsibility and compensate for all losses."

  The CCB Heishan Jiefang Road Branch stated: "Zhengqi Property Company had contact with criminals before opening an account, and the purpose of opening the account was to provide funds for them and obtain high interest. Moreover, after the funds were transferred out, they did not report the case for a long time. We believe that Zhengqi Property Company is in cahoots with the criminal Chen Siyuan, jointly defrauding state-owned bank funds. We request the court to rule that Zhengqi Property Company should bear full legal liability together with the criminal Chen Siyuan."

  The Intermediate People's Court of Heishan City believes that the case is complex and many evidences are insufficient, and there are fundamental differences between the two parties. Finally, it is suggested to conduct mediation outside the court first. If the two parties cannot be mediated, a trial will be held on another day.

  Finally, Deputy Director Wu Gang said indignantly: "The court is also talking nonsense. Our money is in the bank because the bank staff are derelict in their duties and do not carefully examine the seal, giving criminals an opportunity to commit crimes. This is a key factor in the success of criminal fraud. If the bank staff had performed their duties conscientiously, there would be no situation where our funds were swindled by criminals. This is a clear fact, but the court still says that the evidence is insufficient and suggests mediation outside the court.

  Director Zhao Yan also said with some indignation: "Now it's really too dark, this is obviously a place of protectionism. Tree Great Ming and others colluded with criminals, and the bank staff were derelict in their duties, these are two completely different things, how can they be mixed together? Our money is deposited in the bank, we are legitimate customers of the bank, the bank has an obligation to protect customer funds safety. Now they have not fulfilled their obligations, causing us losses, the bank should take full responsibility for compensation!"

  "Director Yang, you studied law. What's your opinion on the court handling this case?" Director Zhao asked after hearing Deputy Director Wu and Director Zhao Yan's opinions, instead of making an immediate decision. Among the people present, Director Yang had the least seniority, so he didn't rush to express his own opinion. However, as a law graduate, now that it involved legal matters, he should have the most say. Therefore, Director Zhao respected him and took the initiative to ask for his views.

  Yang Shan, the director of the department, knew that Zhao Yi, the minister, would ask him personally, so he listened carefully and thought seriously. Now that he saw Minister Zhao asking him questions, he replied calmly: "The law is about evidence, everything is based on evidence. In front of the law, there are no emotions, no facts, no truth, no reason, only evidence."

  Here is the translation:

  At this point, Director Yang Shan paused for a moment. He knew that in front of leaders, when to speak quickly and when to pause temporarily would have the best effect. After explaining the importance of evidence from a legal perspective, Director Yang continued: "I analyzed it, our case with Jianhang Bank's Heishan Branch has four major passive aspects that are worth our high attention."

  "First, we had contact with the criminals. Either before opening an account or after the funds were transferred away, Shu Daming, Fang Jianjun and Fang Lihong all had contact with Chen Siyuan, the general manager of Suyuan Aiguo Agricultural Products Deep Processing Co., Ltd.; second, we benefited from the criminals, that is, Shu Daming received a high interest of 200,000 yuan from Chen Siyuan."

  "Third, from start to finish, we did not have official contact with the bank, but rather personal contact with Vice President Shi Jiangsheng. And Vice President Shi Jiangsheng also intervened in the case and is one of the criminals. Now, he has been internally double-opened by the bank; Fourth, I have a point that cannot be explained clearly, which is that the funds were found to be missing in March, but it was not reported until October, which is very unfavorable for us."

  Yang Shan, the director of the department, finally analyzed and said: "Although everyone knows that bank staff did not conscientiously perform their duty to identify seals, it was a decisive factor for the criminal Chen Siyuan to succeed. Moreover, these four factors are actually unrelated to the success of the crime. But now the problem is that all four factors have clear factual evidence, and our analysis that bank staff did not conscientiously perform their identification duties is only an inference, which is very unfavorable to us."

  Finally, Director Yang Shan suggested: "We must prevent the bank from confusing right and wrong with these four questions. In fact, Heishan Jianhang also used these four reasons to file a countersuit in court, saying that we colluded with the criminal Chen Siyuan to cheat the state-owned funds of the bank. Therefore, I suggest that when we sue Heishan Branch of Jianhang Bank, we should do our best to respond to these four aspects. Otherwise, it's really uncertain how much of the 5 million yuan can be recovered."

  Director Zhao listened to everyone's speeches and thought seriously for a while, finally saying: "Our goal is to get back the 5 million yuan and make up for all the economic losses as much as possible. Now that Chen Siyuan has been sentenced and imprisoned, it would be meaningless to sue him again. Therefore, our only hope now lies in the Bank of Construction's Heishan Branch."

  "Now, I have three points to make. Firstly, we will only sue the Jianhang Bank Heishan Branch. The Jianhang Bank Heishan Branch is our sole defendant; secondly, the four points mentioned by Director Yang Shan are not directly related to the case, but we must still pay close attention and take countermeasures; thirdly, as for the lawsuit against Jianhang Bank, Vice Director Wu Gang will still be in charge, with Yang Shan and Dong Xin providing assistance. As for the Supervision Office's Zhao Yan Director, the focus should be on the parties involved such as Shu Daming, to comprehensively sort out the case materials, supplementing and perfecting what needs to be."

  Wishing all readers a happy Mid-Autumn Festival!