Recently, in a bribery case represented by senior partners Dong Xiaohua and Zhu Ting at Gaopeng Law Firm, the parties involved faced extremely high actual criminal risks. After effective defense, they were finally granted a suspended sentence.

The party involved in this case, Fan, was sentenced to three years in prison and suspended for five years in July 2017 for the crime of illegal mining. Later, due to suspicion of bribery, Fan was investigated by the supervisory commission on October 28, 2023, and transferred to the procuratorate for review and prosecution on November 27. After nearly a year of review and prosecution, the procuratorate believed that Fan committed a new crime during the probation period and should have his probation revoked and be punished for several crimes. And the case of the bribe taker has been judged, and the relevant facts have been confirmed by an effective judgment. At this point, the parties involved are facing a high risk of having their previous suspended sentence revoked and being sentenced to actual punishment. On the eve of the National Day holiday in 2024, the party involved, Mr. Fan, established a delegation relationship with our firm and entrusted the case to lawyers Dong Xiaohua and Zhu Ting for handling at the critical moment.

After careful review and full communication with the parties involved, the two lawyers believe that the fact that Fan bribed after the previous sentence came into effect in this case is unclear and the evidence is insufficient. Moreover, the criminal agreement between the two parties involved in the bribery had already been reached before the judgment, and the bribe taker had already completed the entrusted matters by taking advantage of their position. Therefore, it should be determined that Fan bribed before the previous sentence was sentenced, and it does not belong to a new crime committed during the probation period, but a newly discovered omission after the probation period expired. Therefore, the probation sentence for the previous crime should not be revoked according to law. At the same time, due to the minor circumstances of the bribery, the parties involved have been law-abiding for many years and do not pose a social danger. Therefore, they can be given a lighter punishment and sentenced to probation. In addition, the two lawyers believe that it has been more than seven years since the occurrence of bribery in this case. The 12th Amendment to the Criminal Law, which officially came into effect on March 1, 2023, will adjust the sentence for bribery from less than five years, five to ten years, more than ten years, or life to less than three years, three to ten years, more than ten years, or life. Therefore, whether the statute of limitations has expired in this case is also a topic worth discussing. Therefore, the opinion that the statute of limitations has expired in this case will also be submitted to the court to maximize the interests of the parties and increase bargaining chips.

After supplementing relevant evidence, submitting detailed written legal opinions, communicating with the judge multiple times, and fully elaborating on opinions and reasons during the trial, the court ultimately adopted the lawyer's defense opinion and determined that the prosecution's accusation of bribery in this case was due to unclear facts and insufficient evidence after the judgment came into effect. Based on the principle of favoring the defendant, it was determined that the party bribed before the previous crime judgment came into effect. At the same time, according to the principle of leniency in criminal law, the parties involved should be sentenced to imprisonment for less than three years, and based on social investigation and evaluation opinions, the application of probation will not further harm society. In the end, the court sentenced Fan to one year in prison with a one-year probation. At this point, the actual criminal risk of the parties involved has been successfully resolved, and the case has been satisfactorily resolved.

Professional and accurate criminal defense, helping people in danger and saving lives in times of fire and water. Gao Peng, a criminal defense lawyer, will continue to strengthen his professional ethics, demonstrate his professional responsibility, uphold the unremitting pursuit of fairness and justice, and unwaveringly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the parties in accordance with the law!