Chinese farmer gets life for evading highway tolls
13 years 10 months ago #1
by riada
Nor but in sleep findeth a cure for care.
Incertainty that once gave scope to dream
Of laughing enterprise and glory untold,
Is now a blackness that no stars redeem.
Chinese farmer gets life for evading highway tolls was created by riada
A Chinese farmer has been sentenced to life in prison for avoiding highway tolls adding up to more than 3.5 million yuan ($530,000) by pretending his trucks were military vehicles.
State media reported that Shi Jianfeng was convicted of fraud for using fake military license plates and uniforms to deceive toll collectors into thinking his vehicles were military-owned, and therefore exempt from charges. In this way, he avoided paying tolls more than 2,300 times. A court in the central province of Henan sentenced Shi to jail and also fined him 2 million yuan ($302,000) on Dec. 21, the media report said this week.
The news caused an uproar among some Chinese, who argued in online postings and commentaries that shorter sentences have been given out for the more serious crimes of rape or murder
The outcry was so loud that the Intermediate People's Court in the city of Pingdingshan held a news conference this week to defend its decision.
A report in the People's Daily newspaper said Shi avoided paying tolls more than 2,300 times by using fake military license plates between May 2008 and January 2009 as he ran a business transporting gravel with his two vans.
Military vehicles don't have to pay highway tolls.
The People's Daily report cited prosecutors in the city of Pingdingshan
With China's state media tightly controlled by the government, some citizens pounce on stories that they feel illustrate injustice.
In this case, their complaints strayed beyond Shi's case to popular complaints that highway toll fees are too high, especially for a farmer.
One legal expert said the severity of the sentence in Shi's case comes from the fact that he faked military items, including uniforms.
"Based on the explanation, the court certainly can hand down such a sentence," Qu Xinjiu, a law professor at China University of Political Sciences and Law, was quoted as saying by the English-language Global Times newspaper this week.
Other legals experts told state media they did not expect Shi would be able to pay his large fine.
The life sentence does not mean that Shi will be in jail for the rest of his life because jail terms in China are often shortened for good behavior.
Court officials investigated in China toll case
BEIJING, Sun Jan 16, 07:30 AM
A judge and two court officials were suspended in a probe into a life sentence given to a Chinese farmer for evading highway tolls, after the heavy punishment triggered a public outcry, state media said Sunday.
The court in Henan province sentenced Shi Jianfeng to life in prison last week after finding him guilty of evading more than 3.68 million yuan ($560,000) in highway tolls. Fake military license plates were mounted on two trucks that carried gravel and avoided tolls more than 2,300 times because military vehicles are exempt
The official Xinhua News Agency said the president, deputy president, supervisor and chief judge of the Pingdingshan Municipal Intermediate People's Court were being questioned for failing to properly investigate Shi's case and handing down a sentence while lacking evidence.
The official Xinhua News Agency said the president, deputy president, supervisor and chief judge of the Pingdingshan Municipal Intermediate People's Court were being questioned for failing to properly investigate Shi's case and handing down a sentence while lacking evidence.
The judge, Lou Yanwei, made the ruling in Shi's case, the report said.
All were suspended from their posts except for the president, who was given a warning, Xinhua said.
The move came after Shi's younger brother, Shi Junfeng, turned himself in to police and said his imprisoned brother had taken the blame for him, Xinhua said.Shi Junfeng also told police he had offered bribes to officials after his brother's detention and was promised he would be released soon, it said.After a massive public outcry over the heavy sentence, the court announced a retrial, saying the verdict might change because the defendant had told a new inquiry that he had been manipulated by a relative, Xinhua reported Friday.Chinese Internet users argued in posts and commentaries that the penalty was excessive because shorter sentences were imposed for the more serious crimes of rape and murder. The comments also strayed beyond Shi's case to popular complaints that highway tolls are too high.
Brother confesses in China toll evasion case
BEIJING, Sun Jan 16, 06:33 AM
The brother of a Chinese farmer sentenced to life in prison for evading highway tolls has turned himself in to police and said he was the one responsible, an official and news reports said Sunday.
Shi Junfeng turned himself in Saturday night at the Wuliang public security bureau in Henan province, a duty officer surnamed Zhong said Sunday. He said he did not know the details of the case, which has triggered a public outcry over the heavy punishment.
Shi told police his imprisoned brother had taken the blame for him, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Shi's brother, Shi Jianfeng, was sentenced last week to life imprisonment after being found guilty of evading a total of more than 3.68 million yuan ($560,000) in highway tolls. Fake military license plates were mounted on two trucks that carried gravel and avoided tolls more than 2,300 times because military vehicles are exempt.After a massive public outcry over the heavy punishment, the court announced a retrial, saying the verdict might change because the defendant had told a new inquiry that he had been manipulated by a relative, Xinhua reported Friday.Shi Junfeng told police he had offered bribes to officials after his brother's detention and was promised he would be released soon, Xinhua said Sunday.Chinese Internet users argued in posts and commentaries that the penalty was excessive because shorter sentences were imposed for the more serious crimes of rape and murder. The comments also strayed beyond Shi's case to popular complaints that highway tolls are too high.One legal expert said the severity of the sentence in Shi's case resulted from the fact that military items, including uniforms, had been faked.
China toll dodger's life sentence is dropped
BEIJING, Tue Jan 18, 10:18 PM
A Chinese farmer and gravel dealer who was sentenced to life in prison for evading more than $560,000 in highway cargo tolls by using fake military license plates has now avoided the harsh punishment as well.
After a public outcry about what was deemed harsh treatment of Shi Jianfeng and widespread grumpiness over high tolls in general, state media said Wednesday that authorities have overturned Shi's life sentence.
Shi was sentenced last week for fraud. Fake military license plates on two of his trucks that carried gravel allowed them to avoid tolls more than 2,300 times because military vehicles are exempt.Prosecutors in the central province of Henan confirmed that the case against Shi had been sent back to police for more investigation, the China Daily newspaper reported."We found that charging the elder Shi with fraud might be too severe in this case," Wu Fangxiao, spokesman for the official prosecutors' office in Pingdingshan city, told the newspaper.
Wu said the decision was made because Shi's younger brother had turned himself in as being responsible for the fraud.The chief judge of the Pingdingshan Municipal Intermediate People's Court and two court officials are being questioned for failing to properly investigate Shi's case and handing down a sentence while lacking evidence, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday.But Wu, the spokesman for the prosecutor's office, said Shi could still be charged with forgery and spend up to seven years in prison if found guilty.News of Shi's sentence triggered an uproar among Chinese who argued in online postings and commentaries that shorter sentences were given out for the more serious crimes of rape or murder.
The comments also strayed beyond Shi's case to popular complaints that highway tolls are too high, especially for a farmer.Authorities have scrambled to look responsive. On Tuesday, the vice minister of transport told a news conference that highway tolls will go down - gradually. Weng Mengyong gave no details.
State media reported that Shi Jianfeng was convicted of fraud for using fake military license plates and uniforms to deceive toll collectors into thinking his vehicles were military-owned, and therefore exempt from charges. In this way, he avoided paying tolls more than 2,300 times. A court in the central province of Henan sentenced Shi to jail and also fined him 2 million yuan ($302,000) on Dec. 21, the media report said this week.
The news caused an uproar among some Chinese, who argued in online postings and commentaries that shorter sentences have been given out for the more serious crimes of rape or murder
The outcry was so loud that the Intermediate People's Court in the city of Pingdingshan held a news conference this week to defend its decision.
A report in the People's Daily newspaper said Shi avoided paying tolls more than 2,300 times by using fake military license plates between May 2008 and January 2009 as he ran a business transporting gravel with his two vans.
Military vehicles don't have to pay highway tolls.
The People's Daily report cited prosecutors in the city of Pingdingshan
With China's state media tightly controlled by the government, some citizens pounce on stories that they feel illustrate injustice.
In this case, their complaints strayed beyond Shi's case to popular complaints that highway toll fees are too high, especially for a farmer.
One legal expert said the severity of the sentence in Shi's case comes from the fact that he faked military items, including uniforms.
"Based on the explanation, the court certainly can hand down such a sentence," Qu Xinjiu, a law professor at China University of Political Sciences and Law, was quoted as saying by the English-language Global Times newspaper this week.
Other legals experts told state media they did not expect Shi would be able to pay his large fine.
The life sentence does not mean that Shi will be in jail for the rest of his life because jail terms in China are often shortened for good behavior.
Court officials investigated in China toll case
BEIJING, Sun Jan 16, 07:30 AM
A judge and two court officials were suspended in a probe into a life sentence given to a Chinese farmer for evading highway tolls, after the heavy punishment triggered a public outcry, state media said Sunday.
The court in Henan province sentenced Shi Jianfeng to life in prison last week after finding him guilty of evading more than 3.68 million yuan ($560,000) in highway tolls. Fake military license plates were mounted on two trucks that carried gravel and avoided tolls more than 2,300 times because military vehicles are exempt
The official Xinhua News Agency said the president, deputy president, supervisor and chief judge of the Pingdingshan Municipal Intermediate People's Court were being questioned for failing to properly investigate Shi's case and handing down a sentence while lacking evidence.
The official Xinhua News Agency said the president, deputy president, supervisor and chief judge of the Pingdingshan Municipal Intermediate People's Court were being questioned for failing to properly investigate Shi's case and handing down a sentence while lacking evidence.
The judge, Lou Yanwei, made the ruling in Shi's case, the report said.
All were suspended from their posts except for the president, who was given a warning, Xinhua said.
The move came after Shi's younger brother, Shi Junfeng, turned himself in to police and said his imprisoned brother had taken the blame for him, Xinhua said.Shi Junfeng also told police he had offered bribes to officials after his brother's detention and was promised he would be released soon, it said.After a massive public outcry over the heavy sentence, the court announced a retrial, saying the verdict might change because the defendant had told a new inquiry that he had been manipulated by a relative, Xinhua reported Friday.Chinese Internet users argued in posts and commentaries that the penalty was excessive because shorter sentences were imposed for the more serious crimes of rape and murder. The comments also strayed beyond Shi's case to popular complaints that highway tolls are too high.
Brother confesses in China toll evasion case
BEIJING, Sun Jan 16, 06:33 AM
The brother of a Chinese farmer sentenced to life in prison for evading highway tolls has turned himself in to police and said he was the one responsible, an official and news reports said Sunday.
Shi Junfeng turned himself in Saturday night at the Wuliang public security bureau in Henan province, a duty officer surnamed Zhong said Sunday. He said he did not know the details of the case, which has triggered a public outcry over the heavy punishment.
Shi told police his imprisoned brother had taken the blame for him, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Shi's brother, Shi Jianfeng, was sentenced last week to life imprisonment after being found guilty of evading a total of more than 3.68 million yuan ($560,000) in highway tolls. Fake military license plates were mounted on two trucks that carried gravel and avoided tolls more than 2,300 times because military vehicles are exempt.After a massive public outcry over the heavy punishment, the court announced a retrial, saying the verdict might change because the defendant had told a new inquiry that he had been manipulated by a relative, Xinhua reported Friday.Shi Junfeng told police he had offered bribes to officials after his brother's detention and was promised he would be released soon, Xinhua said Sunday.Chinese Internet users argued in posts and commentaries that the penalty was excessive because shorter sentences were imposed for the more serious crimes of rape and murder. The comments also strayed beyond Shi's case to popular complaints that highway tolls are too high.One legal expert said the severity of the sentence in Shi's case resulted from the fact that military items, including uniforms, had been faked.
China toll dodger's life sentence is dropped
BEIJING, Tue Jan 18, 10:18 PM
A Chinese farmer and gravel dealer who was sentenced to life in prison for evading more than $560,000 in highway cargo tolls by using fake military license plates has now avoided the harsh punishment as well.
After a public outcry about what was deemed harsh treatment of Shi Jianfeng and widespread grumpiness over high tolls in general, state media said Wednesday that authorities have overturned Shi's life sentence.
Shi was sentenced last week for fraud. Fake military license plates on two of his trucks that carried gravel allowed them to avoid tolls more than 2,300 times because military vehicles are exempt.Prosecutors in the central province of Henan confirmed that the case against Shi had been sent back to police for more investigation, the China Daily newspaper reported."We found that charging the elder Shi with fraud might be too severe in this case," Wu Fangxiao, spokesman for the official prosecutors' office in Pingdingshan city, told the newspaper.
Wu said the decision was made because Shi's younger brother had turned himself in as being responsible for the fraud.The chief judge of the Pingdingshan Municipal Intermediate People's Court and two court officials are being questioned for failing to properly investigate Shi's case and handing down a sentence while lacking evidence, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday.But Wu, the spokesman for the prosecutor's office, said Shi could still be charged with forgery and spend up to seven years in prison if found guilty.News of Shi's sentence triggered an uproar among Chinese who argued in online postings and commentaries that shorter sentences were given out for the more serious crimes of rape or murder.
The comments also strayed beyond Shi's case to popular complaints that highway tolls are too high, especially for a farmer.Authorities have scrambled to look responsive. On Tuesday, the vice minister of transport told a news conference that highway tolls will go down - gradually. Weng Mengyong gave no details.
Nor but in sleep findeth a cure for care.
Incertainty that once gave scope to dream
Of laughing enterprise and glory untold,
Is now a blackness that no stars redeem.
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