0033 Habit and Impulse Disorder
After receiving the CD, Qu Zhong returned to the law firm and opened the materials inside one by one, like unwrapping a big gift package.
The case files are similar to those in other cases, mainly consisting of documents, including the defendant's interrogation records, the victim's interrogation records, the witness testimonies of the victim's legal representative, the "Assessment Report on the Degree of Bodily Injury," and procedural documents such as the arrest process.
The only extra thing is a video file.
Leaving aside the details for now, to facilitate reading and marking, and for archiving after the case is closed, she printed out three copies of all the documents. One copy was kept by herself, one was kept for filing, and the third was given to Su Rongqin.
Because she and Su Rongqin were handling this case together, they needed to share all the information about it in a timely manner.
After completing these preparations, Qu Zhong finally calmed down and began to read the materials one by one.
She first clicked on the video file, hoping to understand the circumstances of the crime in the most direct way. However, the image was grayish, with poor resolution and a blurry picture. She could only vaguely make out an adult and a group of children standing in a row.
It's completely unclear what the adult did to the group of children. Furthermore, the video is very short; there must have been some crucial footage that wasn't captured.
Qu Zhong turned off the video and started reviewing the documents again. She noticed that Duan Ningqi's testimony remained consistent; he firmly denied doing anything illegal to the young girls in the kindergarten.
The statements of multiple victims and their legal representatives were highly similar, as if they had agreed in advance, and all identified Duan Ningqi, the principal of Moon Boat Kindergarten, as having committed indecent acts against young girls in the kindergarten on more than one occasion.
Furthermore, the report also indicated that although the girls' hymens were intact and there was no active bleeding, they generally had genital swelling and redness, suggesting the possibility of molestation.
However, there is currently insufficient evidence to determine whether Duan Ningqi was the perpetrator. It's possible that the parents didn't discover the incident in time, and the fingerprints had already been removed.
After reviewing all the materials above, Qu Zhong finally understood what Su Rongqin meant by the fact that this case would soon be exposed. Like the Chen Xi rape case, once this case is made public, it will definitely become a major case with significant influence in District C, Shanghai, and even the whole country, surpassing the Chen Xi case in some respects.
Because the victims in this case were a group of young girls who were only four or five years old, an extremely vulnerable group, it was easier for them to arouse public outrage.
Looking at the case file at hand, the defendant's and victim's accounts were completely contradictory, making it impossible for Qu Zhong to make any judgment. So she pulled out the stack of authorization materials Su Rongqin had given her, found Duan Ningqi's contact information, and dialed his number.
He answered quickly and asked who it was.
Qu Zhong felt that Duan Ningqi's voice sounded different from three years ago. But perhaps it was because so much time had passed that her memory had become hazy.
Without time to think it through, Qu Zhong stated his purpose directly: "Hello Mr. Duan, I am your defense attorney, Qu Zhong. I would like to understand the details of your case. When would be a convenient time for you to come to the office?"
Qu Zhong simply made a normal request for a defense attorney to meet with the client, but Duan Ningqi remained silent. After a while, he asked indifferently, "I've already told the police everything I wanted to say and could say. What else do you want me to do?"
It's hard to judge someone's true emotions over the phone. Qu Zhong assumed he was just annoyed by the hassle, so she explained, "Mr. Duan, if it's inconvenient for you to talk to the police, you can always tell me. I'm on your side..."
Before she could finish speaking, Duan Ningqi impatiently interrupted her: "Why are you asking so many questions? Are you even capable of doing this?"
Like all temperamental and difficult clients, he questioned her about her abilities. Qu Zhong was stunned; she couldn't reconcile the person on the other end of the phone with the Duan Ningqi she remembered.
The defendant still has the right to make a statement and defense for himself, let alone Qu Zhong. She felt it was necessary to explain her work clearly: "Mr. Duan, you have to tell me all the facts so that I can put forward targeted defense opinions."
The facts she wanted Duan Ningqi to provide were facts that could be used to argue for innocence or a lesser charge, not the things he said next:
“It’s true, isn’t it? Fine, I’ll tell you, I did it all. The police’s accusations are absolutely correct. Behind that video, I did everything I should and shouldn’t have done.”
"I used my hands, my pen, and my ruler. I made these little ones line up obediently, and they didn't dare to make a sound."
Judging right and wrong, good and evil, is never something a lawyer should do. No, it's that no one should easily judge the right and wrong of others.
Qu Zhong believes that only two types of people in this world have this qualification. One type is a saint who is veiled in ignorance and devoid of any subjective feelings, and the other type is a judge who has the backing of the state's public power.
Three years ago, when Qu Zhong faced Duan Ningqi, she instinctively and with a grateful heart labeled him as a good person for the first time.
A simplistic and arbitrary judgment.
This is the very person she considered a good person, and now he's saying these things to her.
They disregard the law, openly provoke others, and knowingly do the wrong thing.
It slapped her face three years ago, and it also slapped her face a few minutes ago, leaving her red, swollen, and burning with pain.
Qu Zhong sat frozen in her seat, her initial shock quickly giving way to a calm tone: "What did you say?"
"I've made myself perfectly clear." Duan Ningqi scoffed dismissively. "I just don't understand, is this the one Su Rongqin recommended to me as one of Shanghai's top ten criminal defense lawyers? How did you even get this award? If you can't handle it, then get lost. There are plenty of lawyers in Shanghai who can take this case."
He hung up the phone as soon as he finished speaking, as if afraid of being a second too late.
The beeping sound lingered in Qu Zhong's ears, refusing to dissipate.
Every word Duan Ningqi uttered carried immense weight, shaking her to her core.
Unable to continue any work, she stared at Su Rongqin's office door for a long time before finally walking over and knocking.
"Please come in."
Qu Zhong took a deep breath, turned the doorknob, and went inside.
Su Rongqin was engrossed in typing, while Qu Zhong stood silently opposite him, not sitting down. He stopped typing, looked up, and asked, "Is something the matter?"
Qu Zhong suppressed her agitation and asked him, "Attorney Su, how do you plan to defend Duan Ningqi in this case?"
Su Rongqin seemed surprised that she had acted so quickly: "You've already finished reviewing all the exam materials?"
Qu Zhong frankly said, "Well, I have no ideas."
She not only lacked ideas, but deep down she no longer wanted to defend Duan Ningqi.
But Su Rongqin had no idea what she was thinking: "No rush, first write a written application for a mental illness assessment and send it to the prosecutor in charge."
A mental illness assessment... this was a defense strategy Qu Zhong had never considered. She wanted to know the details: "Who should be assessed, Duan Ningqi?"
Su Rongqin probably thought she had asked a pointless question: "Who else but him?"
His orders were always clear and unquestionable, but Qu Zhong did not intend to carry them out this time: "I don't think it's necessary. I just spoke with Duan Ningqi. He speaks clearly, is quick-witted, and doesn't seem mentally ill at all."
Qu Zhong is usually very respectful to Su Rongqin, but this isn't the first time she's talked back to him when it comes to handling cases.
She spoke eloquently, but Su Rongqin's years of professional experience were several times longer than hers, and he had plenty of arguments to refute her: "Then do you think Tong Hao looks like she has a mental illness?"
Tong Hao, attempted murder, was a case that Qu Zhong assisted Su Rongqin with two years ago.
The defendant, Tong Hao, was 20 years old. One day at 5 a.m., he stabbed his roommate 13 times in a youth hostel, causing serious injury to his roommate.
In that case, the procuratorate proactively commissioned an appraisal agency to conduct a psychiatric evaluation for him, and the evaluation result showed that he suffered from Habit and Impulse Disorder.
Habit and impulse disorders.
A mental illness, an impulsive addiction, characterized by an inability to control one's emotions. While not sufficient to warrant a reduction in punishment, the court will consider this factor during the trial.
Qu Zhong remembered everything, but she still shook her head, as if maliciously and with ill intent, wanting to block all of Duan Ningqi's options: "Mental illness assessments are very weak, you know that, and going to court won't do any good. Tong Hao's sentence was reduced by a year because his mother compensated the victim with 70,000 yuan, not because he had a mental illness."
Qu Zhong's determined attitude towards arguing with him gradually made Su Rongqin's expression serious. He stared at her intently: "Qu Zhong, your words are full of holes. First of all, mental illness assessment is a very professional legal activity. You've been to the forensic center next to your alma mater more than once. As a lawyer, you shouldn't use the word 'easy'."
"Secondly, the results of the expert opinion and whether they will be useful in court are not up to you to decide. You need to understand your own position."
"Ultimately, our main purpose in doing all this is to show Duan Ningqi how hard his defense lawyer works, so that he feels that the tens of thousands of yuan in legal fees were worth it."
Su Rongqin remained unfazed and refuted her point by point.
Qu Zhong's thoughts were unsettled, and her breathing became erratic. What followed was a stream of words, spoken without thought, like soybeans falling from a sieve, one after another, haphazardly and without order:
“Attorney Su, you actually knew everything, didn’t you?”
"We know that Duan Ningqi's actions were not merely child molestation as alleged in the indictment, but also rape, including public rape of multiple young girls, which is a heinous crime and could carry a maximum penalty of death."
Qu Zhong thus aligned Duan Ningqi's actions with the specific crimes and statutory penalties outlined in the Criminal Law, completely stripping herself of her identity as a defense lawyer and acting like a bystander defending the wronged.
"This case involves so many children, and so many parents are making a scene. The police can't and dare not not file a case. So, even with insufficient evidence, they forced a charge of child molestation, dumping the mess on the prosecutor's office and leaving the prosecutors to deal with the headache..."
If a sufficient chain of evidence cannot be formed during the prosecution stage, then the case cannot be prosecuted, and Duan Ningqi will be found not guilty.
To Su Rongqin, Qu Zhong's words sounded like she was talking nonsense, so he interrupted her in time and countered her unfinished sentence: "You said it would give the prosecutor a headache, but isn't that exactly what benefits Duan Ningqi and our work?"
Yes, the prosecution is in trouble, and the defense benefits—such a simple conclusion.
Qu Zhong, however, was not happy at all. She pursed her lips and couldn't hear a word Su Rongqin said.
"I don't understand why you came all this way to tell me this."
Su Rongqin said he didn't understand, but Qu Zhong felt that he actually understood, but was just pretending not to. He had that ability, which was why he was the top lawyer in Shanghai.
As he spoke, his tone softened. He knew that their internal argument was pointless: "Qu Zhong, what you're saying is none of our business. What you need to do now is give me a perfect application for a mental illness assessment and a perfect defense."
Give it to me before I leave work tomorrow.
Qu Zhong didn't know how she got out of Su Rongqin's office.
She returned to her workstation, opened a text document, but couldn't write a single word.
It felt like my soul and body separated for a moment, and then quickly returned to my body.
She closed all the document interfaces, clicked the WeChat icon in the lower right corner, and sent a message to the prosecutor handling the case:
Are you free tonight? I'd like to see you.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
