In the eighth trial court of the Provincial High Court, there were not many people in the auditorium, and Zhou Yingqi's father, Mr. Zhou, was among them, holding a fast-acting heart-saving pill in his hand, his heart was beating non-stop, and he didn't know whether the next trial would be a blessing or a curse for his daughter.

There are three judges of the collegial panel sitting above, and the presiding judge is the president of the criminal division of the provincial high court. The inspectors of the provincial procuratorate sitting opposite Fang Yi and Zhou Ying were two middle-aged male prosecutors. It seems that both sides have fielded relatively strong lineups.

……

"Next, the prosecutor will read out the protest." The presiding judge said.

"Presiding Judge and Judge: This court finds that appellant Zhou Yingqi has committed the crime of accepting bribes, and the prosecutorial counter-appeal opinion is as follows:

…… The court of first instance did not find that all the 8.18 million yuan received by Zhou Yingqi from Zhao Xiaojie were bribes, which was an error in determining the facts; Failing to determine that the 300,000 yuan received by Zhou Yingqi from Jiayue Company was bribes was an error in the application of law. In addition, the sentence imposed by the court of first instance was obviously unusually light, and the court was requested to change the sentence. Complete. The inspector said.

"The appellant Zhou Yingqi will now state the reasons for appeal." The presiding judge said.

"In the first instance, it was determined that the 1.88 million yuan I received from Zhao Xiaojie was a bribe, and I did not recognize it. My promotion for Zhao Xiaojie's activities was based on the feelings of both of us, and it was a transaction of power and money. Zhou Yingqi said.

"The appellant's advocate issues grounds of appeal." The presiding judge said.

The defender believes that the court of first instance's determination that appellant Zhou Yingqi's acceptance of Zhao Xiaojie's 1.88 million yuan was a bribe, which was an error in the determination of facts.

The appellant Zhou Yingqi and Zhao Xiaojie were lovers and had already planned to get married, and it was this special relationship between them that led to frequent economic exchanges between the two parties and the confusion of property.

According to Zhou Yingqi and Zhao Xiaojie's plan, the two will live together and become a family in the near future. In view of this, Zhou Yingqi's activities for Zhao Xiaojie's promotion, although it is suspected of violating discipline, is also human nature.

Therefore, Zhou Yingqi's acceptance of Zhao Xiaojie's 1.88 million yuan does not constitute bribery. The court is requested to acquit the appellant in accordance with the law. Complete. Fang Yi said.

(According to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law, in second-instance cases where there is both a procuratorate protest and an appeal by the defendant, the prosecutor who protests the protest will speak first, then the appellant, and finally the defender)

The subsequent descriptions of the facts of the case by the parties were consistent with those of the first instance, and the parties did not submit new evidence and did not repeat them.

"The court investigation is over, and now the court argument is open. Before the debate, the court draws the attention of the prosecution and the defense to the fact that the debate should mainly focus on the determination of the charge, sentencing and other controversial issues.

The prosecutor will speak first. The presiding judge said.

"Presiding Judge and Judge: We believe that Zhou Yingqi accepted a total of 8.48 million yuan from Zhao Xiaojie and Jiayue Company, which should be considered bribes. Here's why:

1. Although the appellant Zhou Yingqi and Zhao Xiaojie were lovers, Zhao Xiaojie gave Zhou Yingqi large sums of money and property on many occasions, and asked Zhou Yingqi to help him in his job promotion and reduction of responsibility, and Zhou Yingqi recommended and interceded with the relevant leaders of the group company according to Zhao Xiaojie's request. On the whole, Zhou Yingqi is seeking improper benefits for Zhao Xiaojie, and her behavior should be characterized as accepting bribes.

2. The judgment of the court of first instance failed to accurately evaluate the nature of Zhou Yingqi's conduct as a whole, resulting in the reduction of some of the facts of the crime. At the same time, the appellant, Zhou Yingqi, used his right to select suppliers to help Zhao Xiaojie's relatives Zou Jia and Zhao Yue's Jiayue Company to obtain the business of a technology company and collect 300,000 yuan, and his conduct should also be found to be bribery.

3. The court of first instance ruled that the failure to recover the relevant property and proceeds in accordance with article 18 of the "Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Handling of Criminal Cases of Corruption and Bribery" for the house purchased by Zhou Yingqi with bribe money was an improper handling of the money and property involved in the case and should be corrected in accordance with law.

The above is the court's protest opinion, and it is over. The inspector said.

"The appellant Zhou Yingqi will now defend herself." The presiding judge said.

"I think the facts found by the court of first instance are wrong, I have a lover relationship with Zhao Xiaojie, and during this period, I received money from Zhao Xiaojie and Jiayue Company, which is completely based on my special relationship with Zhao Xiaojie, and there is no power-for-money transaction, and I feel that I should not constitute the crime of accepting bribes.

I have little legal knowledge, and if the Provincial High Court finds that my actions constitute bribery and sentences against me, I accept the verdict. However, there is a special relationship between me and Zhao Xiaojie, and my family has already returned 2.8 million yuan to the procuratorate on my behalf, and asked the court to fully consider it when sentencing. Zhou Yingqi said.

This set of words is her deliberate, and her meaning is very clear: first, to show her attitude, she believes that the facts determined by the court of first instance are wrong, and if the court of second instance finds her guilty, she accepts it unconditionally (the key is not to accept it and not to do it); secondly, to reaffirm the relationship between her and Zhao Xiaojie, and let the court consider the actual situation; Finally, tell the court of second instance that the family has actively returned the stolen goods, and the court of second instance must properly consider the situation of actively returning the stolen goods, don't sentence too severely!

She felt that she could attack and retreat in this way, and she would not suffer a loss left and right, but it sounded a little inconsistent, confusing, and she didn't know what she thought.

"Appellant Zhou Yingqi's defender spoke." The presiding judge said.

Fang Yi picked up the rewritten defense statement and said: "Presiding judge, judge: The defender believes that the appellant Zhou Yingqi does not constitute the crime of accepting bribes. Here's why:

1. Zhou Yingqi's act of accepting money from her lover should not be found to be bribery.

The defender argues that in bribery cases, no matter how long the timeline between accepting property and seeking benefits is, or even if the two parties agree to "do things" while in office and receive money after retirement, the correspondence between seeking profits and receiving money is still self-evident and generally does not need special proof.

However, when there is a special relationship between the party giving the bribe and the party receiving the bribe, it is necessary to further prove the purpose of the conduct of both parties, as is the case in this case.

First, the evidence in the case shows that the appellant Zhou Yingqi and Zhao Xiaojie had a lover relationship, and in a period of more than four years, the appellant Zhou Yingqi and Zhao Xiaojie went from determining the relationship between lovers, to agreeing to get married, preparing to purchase a "marriage house", to living together, and finally breaking up, and maintaining a lover relationship for more than four years. And after Zhou Yingqi confirmed the relationship with Zhao Xiaojie, she quickly went through the divorce procedures. Since then, Zhao Xiaojie has also sued the court for divorce many times, but all of them have been rejected. ”

(End of chapter)