Chapter 53 - 45: Debating Surrender

Hu Guang had been a prosecutor for over twenty years. He’d worked his way up from the bottom, and now, just over forty and in the prime of his life, he was the section chief of the First Criminal Division of the Second Supervision Department at the municipal prosecutor’s office.

What kind of case hadn’t he tried?

What kind of opponent hadn’t he faced?

But this was the first time in Hu Guang’s entire life that he’d heard a suspect could be considered to have surrendered after seven police officers had fired warning shots to control the scene.

This was more than just arrogance.

This was utter madness!

"Counsel for the defense, this is a court of law. Everything you say will be entered into the record as evidence."

Hu Guang’s tone was chilling, his voice resonating deep in everyone’s chest. He said:

"I suggest you collect your thoughts before speaking again!"

These words were both a caution and a warning.

In a courtroom, your words could be aggressive, and they could even be used to deceive people.

But spouting nonsense was a cardinal sin!

Not only would it do nothing to help the case, but it would also muddy what should be a clear line of thought, bogging the trial down in a quagmire.

If the presiding judge had been any stricter, a warning would have been issued, one hundred percent.

And after the court adjourned, the lawyer would become a pariah and a laughingstock, his actions mocked over dinner.

However...

"I am perfectly rational. The prosecution needn’t worry about me!"

Xu De retorted instantly. Seated at the defense table, he met Hu Guang’s gaze without a trace of fear.

The year was 2002, a very unique period. What made it unique?

Legally, the principle was the presumption of innocence. But in practice, investigators operated on the presumption of guilt.

Therefore, he couldn’t let his aggressive stance falter for even a moment!

"The defense is certain."

"In this case, the defendant, Wang Qiang, was not arrested by the police. Rather, he surrendered of his own free will, without interference from any other party!"

He was... serious.

Hu Guang’s brows knitted into a tight knot. He sat back down in his seat, speechless for a long time.

On the judge’s bench.

The three judges were also frowning now, but they didn’t rush to make a statement.

A moment later.

The presiding judge, Zhang Bingxin, struck the gavel once more.

"BANG!"

"Counsel for the defense, please state the basis for your claim."

As he spoke, Zhang Bingxin fixed his gaze on Xu De, not missing a single detail.

As mentioned before, if the defense attorney was just spouting nonsense to disrupt the prosecution’s rhythm, he... was fully within his rights to issue a warning.

If multiple warnings went unheeded, what awaited Xu De was...

Expulsion from the courtroom!

"Your Honor, members of the court, the basis for our claim is very simple."

Xu De took a deep breath, momentarily setting aside his animosity toward the prosecution to free up enough mental energy to articulate his point.

"Just now, the prosecution submitted the testimony of the seven police officers at the scene, as well as the police case file."

He spoke, gesturing slightly toward the evidence on the bench before the judges.

It was still the evidence submitted by the prosecution.

As for why he was singling out this particular piece of evidence...

"May I ask, in this case file, in the police’s final summary of the homicide, what does the original text say!?"

Xu De’s gaze sharpened, his mind whirring like a computer’s CPU.

On the judge’s bench.

Judge Liu Jianguo paused for a moment. He looked down, then picked up the case file.

"This case file was provided by the police for this case."

"The passage indicated by the defense, the original text reads..."

He paused, then began to read aloud:

"Original text: ’After the incident, the suspect remained at the scene and made no attempt to flee. He was later brought back to the Lusen City Public Security Bureau by officers. The suspect is now in custody. After investigation, the facts of the case are clear and the evidence is conclusive...’"

This was the police report.

If one looked closely, it wasn’t hard to notice something, which was...

"I ask the prosecution, Your Honor, in the original police text..."

Xu De paused, then delivered his next line.

"Does it ever say that the defendant, Wang Qiang, was arrested and brought to justice!?"

As his words fell.

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

Then.

Visibly, the prosecutors and the judges on the bench—seven people in total—all simultaneously looked down at the case files in their hands.

Wang Wei wanted to say something, but the case file in front of him indeed contained no mention of words like ’arrest’, ’capture’, or anything similar!

In other words...

"The police never said the culprit was arrested and brought to justice!"

"This so-called concept of a ’capture’..."

Xu De pressed his advantage. Seeing the time was right, he immediately launched a counter-charge against the prosecution.

His gaze was now incredibly sharp, like the glint of clashing blades, slashing straight toward Hu Guang and the others.

"...is entirely a subjective conclusion by the prosecution, one that clearly lacks any objective facts or basis!"

As his voice fell.

The expressions on Hu Guang’s and Wang Wei’s faces changed drastically.

Immediately after, the reason for their change in expression came from the gallery.

"So after the murder... the police didn’t say it was an arrest? Then how did the prosecution decide to call it an arrest!?"

"The prosecutors are Hu Guang and Wang Wei? Don’t tell me those two did it just to increase their chances of winning..."

"Something feels weird to me. Wouldn’t the defendant know whether he was arrested or not...?"

"Wait, the defense says it wasn’t an arrest, and the prosecution says it wasn’t a surrender... so how did the defendant end up at the police station?! Can someone explain this to me...?"

"..."

The people in the gallery were stunned.

Their previously raised eyebrows were now knitted into knots, and countless pairs of doubtful eyes flickered through the crowd, landing on Hu Guang and Wang Wei at the prosecution’s table.

There aren’t many pieces of information that can decide the outcome of a case.

But whether or not it was a surrender just so happened to be one of them!

At this moment.

Listening to the doubtful murmurs from the gallery.

At the prosecution’s table, Wang Wei and Hu Guang’s brows were tightly furrowed.

’Mud... this is blatant mud-slinging!’

The two of them weren’t the type to obsessively protect their reputations, but they certainly didn’t enjoy being lambasted by thousands of people!

"The prosecution has something to say!"

Wang Wei shot to his feet. Without waiting for the presiding judge’s response, he spoke immediately:

"The procuratorate had no intention of deliberately approving an arrest; every application is repeatedly deliberated before a conclusion is reached."

"In this case, the prosecution’s basis is: the threat at the scene had ceased, and the police had control of the situation!"

In the legal definition of surrender, there is indeed a provision for surrendering on the spot.

But that only applies to a chaotic scene where the police have not yet brought everyone under control. Once control is established... then even if you confess willingly, it’s still considered an arrest.

"Counsel for the prosecution, I must correct you!"

"According to Article 67 of the Criminal Law, and with reference to the ’National Unified Textbook for Judge Training’..."

"’A chaotic crime scene where police forces have not yet established control qualifies as an on-site surrender while awaiting capture.’"

Xu De shook his head, his tone steady, as if he were simply reading from a script.

He stated:

"After the incident occurred, the individuals involved in the brawl were not under control. They were merely stunned by the warning shots. Some of them were still holding weapons!"

"The so-called ’cease of threat’ did not exist. The scene was still chaotic and uncontrolled."

"The defendant, Wang Qiang, meets the criteria of the aforementioned laws and regulations. This clearly constitutes..."

"A surrender!"

Furthermore...

Xu De paused, his brow furrowing. Then, he took a deep breath.

"And regarding the prosecution’s point about the ’thirty-second gap after the defendant Wang Qiang got out of the car’..."

The arguments above explained the surrender. But relying solely on that point to argue about the defendant’s cooperative attitude would, at best, result in a stalemate with the prosecution.

But it didn’t matter. He hadn’t played all his cards yet.

"The defense..."

"...has a witness!"