Gang-rape Accomplice Represented by Dacheng Attorney Receives Reprieve

On September 26, 2013, Haidian District People’s Court of Beijing Municipality held an open trial for a gang rape case involving Li and four other defendants. The court ruled that the five defendants be given prison terms ranging from 3 to 12 years. The fourth defendant, surnamed Zhang, was represented by Zhao Yunheng, director of Beijing-based Criminal Defense practice of Dacheng. His sentence of 3 years in jail with a 5-year reprieve came as a relief for him and his parents who gave their full credit to attorney Zhao for the prominent role he had played in the defense.
 
According to the court verdict, Zhang participated in the commission of crime by following other defendants’ examples and had shown sympathy to the victim, inflicting less severe harm upon the victim compared with another three principal offenders. The court found signs of repentance in him by his proactive confession of his and the other accomplices’ guilt and the acknowledgement of guilt. He also took the initiative to pay damages and apologize to the victim, who in turn also suggested lesser punishment. Furthermore, the court noticed that as a juvenile student between the age of 16 and 18 with fairly good manners at ordinary times, he was not malicious-minded, nor a physical threat to the public. The court thus ordered reduced punishment in the form of a reprieve upon him out of concerns for minor offenders’ education and correction.
 
The court’s decision on this defendant, which drew positive public response, raised the profile of Dacheng’s criminal defense attorneys.