Editorials

Wrong conviction

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-01-18 07:54

The verdict in the tolls evasion case in Central China's Henan province has tarnished the image of the courts and judges, and damaged the sanctity of the law and credibility of the judicial system.

"Lack of detailed investigation and careless listening" was the conclusion the provincial high court gave when imposing disciplinary penalties on the four city court officials involved.

An investigation by the higher-level court needs to be made to find out what went wrong, as the court and prosecutors involved in the city of Pingdingshan cannot be trusted.

In this case, Shi Jianfeng was charged with using fake military license plates and other documentation that allowed him and his hired truck drivers to evade tolls on some 2,300 trips from 2008 to 2009. The charges he evaded were estimated at 3.86 million ($550,000) and he was fined and sentenced to life imprisonment.

His punishment provoked public outcry. But even when the general public questioned the fairness of the verdict, the local court held a press conference insisting the sentence was just.

The four court officials involved, including the president, a vice-president, the judge and the assistant judge have all been given disciplinary punishments. Yet, questions remain as to why they turned a blind eye to the fact that it is impossible for two trucks to evade so much in road fees in only eight months. Moreover, where did Shi Jianfeng buy the fake military license plates? If he could obtain them, there must be a business behind it. The verdict failed to mention a word about all these details.

As we all know, local prosecutors and courts have the obligation to conduct investigations before a suspect is convicted. A verdict should never be reached unless there is sufficient evidence to support it. However, in this case, the evidence was insufficient. How could the judge convict Shi with such shallow evidence?

Apparently, the court failed to follow the correct procedure. So the question must be asked: Did the court skip the procedure out of negligence or because of something else?

Now Shi Junfeng, the younger brother of Shi Jianfeng, has turned himself in as the real offender and revealed that two people who claimed to be armed police officers sold him the license plates. He also confessed that people working at the tollgates were involved.

All these prove what an unfair verdict this local court has given and demand an investigation to find out why.