Translator' Notes:
- The Chinese text was generated by OCR'ing low-quality images of the original court judgment posted online. I have attempted to identify and correct the typographical errors that may have been introduced in the OCR process.
- Ji Xiaolong was convicted for committing the crime of "寻衅滋事." I translate this as "disturbing the peace," while other translators translate it as "picking quarrels and provoking troubles."
- The acts underlying Ji Xiaolong's conviction were his writing on public bathroom walls. Ordinarily I would not translate a judgment where the underlying acts would likely be prosecuted in other jurisdictions, such as vandalism. In this case, however, the prosecutors chose to not charge Ji with vandalism (e.g., destruction of public property under Article 275 of the Criminal Law), but instead with "disturbing the peace," which is a charge prosecutors commonly use to punish political speech. In the judgment the court specifically noted that Ji's bathroom graffiti was "inciting and vilifying."
- I have attempted to ascertain and obtain some of the materials described in the judgment (specifically photos of the graffiti posted online), and have included them in the English translation. Please note these are my best guesses, and the original judgment did not contain any actual materials.
- The court judgment references that Ji wrote "poison mild powder, Red-Yellow-Blue. . . ." The former is likely a reference to the mass intentional poisoning of thousands of infants with tainted milk powder, and its cover-up by government officials. See "Searching for Information About Milk Powder Safety on China's Web Sites: From Sanlu to Yili to Fonterra." The latter is most likely a reference to reports that children at an RYB Education New World kindergarten in Beijing were sexually molested, jabbed with needles, and given unidentified pills. See "Police investigate child abuse at Beijing kindergarten," and "Beijing Kindergarten Is Accused of Abuse, and Internet Erupts in Fury."
- At the time of this blog post, Ji Xiaolong is being held in custody awaiting trial again. According to the indictment, Ji is once again charged with disturbing the peace, this time for allegedly posting unspecified "fake information" on Twitter that "severely harmed the image of the State."
People's Court of Pudong, Shanghai
Criminal Judgment
(2018) Hu 0115 Criminal First Instance No. 4871
The public prosecution agency was the People's Procuratorate of Pudong, Shanghai.
Defendant Ji Xiaolong, male, born on [INTENTIONALLY OMITTED], 1976 in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu,Han ethnicity, college education, unemployed, household registration at [INTENTIONALLY OMITTED], Yangshe Township, Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu.In June 2015, he was subjected to 10 days administrative detention by the Pudong Precinct of the Public Security Bureau of Shanghai for disturbing the peace. On July 27, 2018, he was taken into criminal detention by the Pudong Precinct of the Public Security Bureau of Shanghai. On September 25, the Pudong Precinct of the Public Security Bureau of Shanghai decided to place him under residential surveillance, and he was arrested in accordance with the law on September 30 of the same year. He is currently being held in detention at the Pudong Detention Center in Shanghai.
Defense counsel Dai Peiqing is a lawyer at the Shanghai Law and Reason Firm.
In the Hu Pu 1st Procuratorate Criminal Indictment (2018) No. 595 the People's Procuratorate of Pudong charged defendant Ji Xiaolong with committing the crime of disturbing the peace, and on December 3, 2018, it filed a public prosecution with this Court. After this Court opened a case on the same day, it formed a collegial panel in accordance with the law, and tried this case in open court. The People's Procuratorate of Pudong assigned Procurators Chen Yong and Chen Gang to appear in court in support of the public prosecution. Defendant Ji Xiaolong and his defense counsel Dai Peiqing appeared in court to participate in the proceedings. The trial has now concluded.
The People's Procuratorate of Pudong charged that from July 17 to 26, 2018, defendant Ji Xiaolong, in order to vent his dissatisfaction, on six occasions went to public restrooms at 25 locations in the basement floor of Thumb Square, Fangdian Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai; the first floor of Lianyang Plaza, Fangdian Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai; multiple floors of the Outpatient Building of Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University; No. 12 Urumqi Middle Road, Jing'an District, Shanghai; the first floor of the Outpatient Building of Shanghai Children's Medical Center Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; No. 1678 Dongfang Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai; and the Outpatient Building of Ruijin Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No. 197 Ruijin 2nd Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai, wherein he wrote inciting and vilifying slogans including "overthrow one-party rule," "down with the Communist Party," "poison milk powder, Red-Yellow-Blue,1 and now there are fake vaccines, poisoned air, poisoned food, a poisoned system, a poisoned government." In addition, he took photos of the aforementioned slogans and, after saving them, he posted and spread them on the "twitter" foreign social media. This aroused the attention of, and sensationalization by, a large number of Internet users and foreign media reports. The public prosecution agency provided evidence relevant to the aforementioned facts, and believes that defendant Ji Xiaolong's actions were the commission of an offense under the provisions of Article 293(1) clause 4 of the "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China," and that he should bear criminal liability for the crime of disturbing the peace. At the same time it has determined that defendant Ji Xiaolong has demonstrated frankness.
Defendant Ji Xiaolong did not have any objections to the facts in this case, but he denies that they constitute the crime of disturbing the peace. Defense counsel believes defendant Ji Xiaolong's actions did not constitute a crime.
It was ascertained at trial that from July 17 to 26, 2018, defendant Ji Xiaolong, in order to vent his dissatisfaction, on six occasions went to public restrooms at 25 locations in the basement floor of Thumb Square, Fangdian Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai; the first floor of Lianyang Plaza, Fangdian Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai; multiple floors of the Outpatient Building of Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University; No. 12 Urumqi Middle Road, Jing'an District, Shanghai; the first floor of the Outpatient Building of Shanghai Children's Medical Center Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; No. 1678 Dongfang Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai; and the Outpatient Building of Ruijin Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No. 197 Ruijin 2nd Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai, wherein he wrote inciting and vilifying slogans including "overthrow one-party rule," "down with the Communist Party," "poison milk powder, Red-Yellow-Blue, and now there are fake vaccines, poisoned air, poisoned food, a poisoned system, a poisoned government." In addition, he took photos of the aforementioned slogans and, after saving them, he posted and spread them on the "twitter" foreign social media. This aroused the attention of, and sensationalization by, a large number of Internet users and foreign media reports.
On July 27, 2018, defendant Ji Xiaolong was apprehended and taken into custody, and made a statement about his criminal acts.
The aforementioned facts are substantiated by the following factual evidence examined in court:
1. Relevant documentary evidence confirmed defendant Ji Xiaolong undertook acknowledgment of the relevant photos of the written slogans and screenshots of "twitter."
2. The witness testimony transcripts of Yu Xiulan, Hu Yan, Hong Junlan, Xu Min, Li Xiuhong, Zhou Hengquan, Chu Xiulin, Cai Beiling, Cao Fenghua, Zhu Xiaowei, and Zhang Dingnan each confirmed the circumstances of the discovery of the slogans at the scene of the crime.
3. The evidence retrieval notice, evidence retrieval list, and surveillance video disc produced by the public security agency confirmed the circumstances of the surrounding the surveillance video of the crime scene and the appearance of defendant Ji Xiaolong near the crime scenes retrieved by the public security agency.
4. The crime scene investigation transcripts and crime scene maps and photos produced by the public security agency confirmed the Institute of Criminal Science and Technology of the Pudong Precinct of the Public Security Bureau of Shanghai conducted a crime scene investigation of the slogan scene on the first floor of the outpatient building of Shanghai Children's Medical Center affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No. 1678, Dongfang Road, Pudong New District, Shanghai.
5. The remote crime scene investigation work record and one accompanying optical disc produced by the public security agency confirmed the Cybersecurity Protectorate of the Pudong Precinct of the Public Security Bureau of Shanghai carried out a remote crime scene investigation of the Rights Protection Network, Bannedbook.org, and The Epoch Times, and fixed relevant evidence in a physical medium.
6. The search warrant, search records, seizure lists, and list of returned items produced by the public security agency confirmed the fact that the public security agency seized related mobile phones and laptop computers from defendant Ji Xiaolong, conducted crime scene investigations, collected and fixed relevant evidence in a physical medium.
7. The judicial forensic opinion report and accompanying optical disc of the Computer Forensic Institute Division of the Shanghai Honglian Network Technology Co., Ltd. confirmed that with respect to its examination of defendant Ji Xiaolong's mobile phone: The circumstances of the crime scene investigation and collection and fixing in a permanent medium of relevant electronic evidence from the laptop computer and the "Old Li" "twitter" account.
8. The judicial forensic opinion report of the Judicial Forensic Academy of Sciences confirmed that the photos of handwriting extracted from defendant Ji Xiaolong's mobile phone, screenshots of videos, and the handwriting pictures published by the "Toilet Revolution Alliance" on "twitter" all come from the handwriting of defendant Ji Xiaolong.
9. The Case Registration Form and Explanation of the Circumstances of the Case Development Process produced by the public security agency confirmed circumstances in this case of how the case developed and how defendant Ji Xiaolong was brought to justice.
10. The Personal Case File information and Administrative Punishment Decision produced by the public security agency confirmed the identity of defendant Ji Xiaolong and the circumstances of his wrongdoings.
This Court finds that in order to vent his dissatisfaction defendant Ji Xiaolong did, on several occasions, write inciting and vilifying slogans that created a disturbance in a public venue, causing severe chaos in public venue order and undermined social order, and that this constitutes the commission of the crime of disturbing the peace. The facts of defendant Ji Xiaolong's crime charged by the public prosecution agency are clear, the evidence is reliable and copious, and the offense is established.
Regarding the opinion proffered by defendant Ji Xiaolong and the defense counsel that defendant Ji Xiaolong's do not constitute the commission of a crime, it was ascertained at trial that the evidence confirming defendant Ji Xiaolong's commission of the crime of disturbing the peace included witness testimony, relevant photos, forensic opinion reports, and relevant documentary and video evidence, which was sufficient to reach a determination. Therefore, in accordance with the law this Court does not accept the relevant opinions of defendant Ji Xiaolong and the defense counsel.
After being taken into police custody defendant Ji Xiaolong made truthful statements about the criminal facts, and his justifications of the nature of the behavior does not affect the determination of frankness, and he can be given a lighter punishment.
In summary, in order to maintain social public order, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 293(1) clause 4 and 67(3) of the "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China" the judgment of this Court is as follows:
Defendant Ji Xiaolong committed the crime of disturbing the peace, and is sentenced to a fixed term imprisonment of three years and six months. (The prison term is to be calculated starting on the day the judgment is executed, and each day in custody prior to the execution of the judgment shall count as one day of the prison term, that is from September 30, 2018 to February 9, 2022.
If any party does not accept this judgment, they may within 10 days after the second day after receiving this written judgment bring an appeal through this Court or directly to the First Intermediate People's Court of Shanghai. A written appeal should be submitted with one original and two copies of the appeal brief.
Chief Adjudicator [ILLEGIBLE IN ORIGINAL]
People's Assessor [ILLEGIBLE IN ORIGINAL]
People's Assessor [ILLEGIBLE IN ORIGINAL]
January 4, 2019
Clerk Ma Danhong
上海市浦东新区人民法院
刑事判决书
(2018)沪0115刑初4871号
公诉机关上海市浦东新区人民检察院。
被告人季孝龙,男,1976年7月10日出生于江苏省张家港市,汉族,大学文化,无业,户籍地江苏省张家港市杨舍镇名都花苑27幢206室;2015年6月因寻衅滋事行为被上海市公安局浦东分局处行政拘留10日;2018年7月27日涉嫌寻衅滋事罪被上海市公安局浦东分局刑事拘留,同年8月25日由上海市公安局浦东分局决定監視居住,同年9月30日被依法逮捕。现羁押于上海市浦东新区看守所。
辩护人戴佩清,上海市律和理律师事务所律师。
上海市浦东新区人民检察院以沪浦检一部刑诉[2018]595号起诉书指控被告人季孝龙犯寻衅滋事,于2018年12月3日向本院提起公诉,本院于同日立案后,依法组成合议庭,公开开庭审理了本案,上海市浦东新区人民检察院指派检察员陈勇、陈钢出庭支持公诉,被告人季孝龙及辩护人戴佩清到庭参加诉讼。现已审理终结。
上海市浦东新区人民检察院指控,2018年7月17日至26日间,被告人季孝龙为发泄不满情绪,先后6次至上海市浦东新区芳甸路大拇指广场地下一层、上海市浦东新区芳甸路联洋广场A区一层、上海市静安区乌鲁木齐中路12号复旦大学附属华山医院门诊大楼多个楼层、上海市浦东新区东方路1678号上海交通大学医学院附属上海儿童医学中心门诊大楼一楼、上海市黄浦区瑞金二路197号上海交通大学医学院附属瑞金医院门诊大楼多个楼层的公共厕所内,书写内容包括"推翻一党执政"、"打倒共产党","毒奶粉、红黄蓝,今又来了假疫苗,毒空气、毒食品、毒制度、毒政府"等煽动性、污蔑性标语共计25处,并将上述标语拍照保存后通过境外社交媒体"twitter"进行发布传播,引起大量网民关注及境外媒体报道炒作。针对上述事实,公诉机关提供了相关的证据,并认为被告人季孝龙的行为触犯了《中华人民共和国刑法》第二百九十三条第一款第(四)项之规定,应当以寻衅滋事罪追究其刑事责任,同时认定被告人季孝龙有坦白情节。
被告人季孝龙对案件事实没有异议,但否认构成寻衅滋事罪。辩护人认为被告人季孝龙的行为没有构成犯罪。
经审理查明,2018年7月17日至26日间,被告人季孝龙为发泄不满情绪,先后6次至上海市浦东新区芳甸路大拇指广场地下一层、上海市浦东新区芳甸路联洋广场A区一层、上海市静安区乌鲁木齐中路12号复旦大学附属华山医院门诊大楼多个楼层、上海市浦东新区东方路1678号上海交通大学医学院附属上海儿童医学中心门诊大楼一楼、上海市黄浦区瑞金二路197号上海交通大学医学院附属瑞金医院门诊大楼多个楼层的公共厕所内,书写内容包括"推翻一党执政""打倒共产党"、"毒奶粉、红黄蓝,今又来了假疫苗,毒空气、毒食品、毒制度、毒政府"等煽动性、污蔑性标语共计25处,并将上述标语拍照保存后通过境外社交媒体"twitter"进行发布传播,引起大量网民关注及境外媒体报道炒作。
2018年7月27日,被告人季孝龙被抓获到案,如实供述罪行。
上述事实,有经庭审质证属实的以下证据,予以证实:
1、相关书证,证实被告人季孝龙对书写的相关标语照片、"twitter"截屏照片进行了辨认。
2、证人余秀兰、胡燕、洪俊兰、徐敏、李秀红、周恒泉、储修林、蔡蓓苓、曹风花、朱孝伟、张定南的证言笔录,分别证实在案发现场发现相关标语的情况。
3、公安机关出具的调取证据通知书,调取证据清单、监控视频光盘,证实公安机关调取案发现场周边監控視頻及被告人季孝龙在案发现场附近出现的情况。
4、公安机关出具的现场勘验笔录、现场图,照片,证实上海市公安局浦东分局刑事科学技术研究所对上海市浦东新区东方路1678号上海交通大学医学院附属上海儿童医学中心门诊大楼一楼标语现场进行勘验的情况。
5、公安机关出具的远程勘验工作记录及附件光盘1张,证实上海市公安局浦东分局网络安全保卫支队对维权网、参与网、大纪元进行远程勘验并固定相关证据的情况。
6、公安机关出具的搜查证、搜查笔录、扣押清单、发还清单,证实公安机关从被告人季孝龙处查扣相关移动电话、笔记本电脑并勘验、提取、固定相关电子证据等事实。
7、上海弘连网络科技有限公司计算机司法鉴定所司法鉴定意见书及附件光盘,证实对查扣被告人季孝龙的移动电话:笔记本电脑及昵称"老季"的"twitter"用户相关电子证据勘验,提取,固定的情况。
8、司法鉴定科学研究院司法鉴定意见书,证实在上海儿童学中心现场发现的字流图片,从被告人季孝龙的移动电话提取的字迹图片、视频截图、"厕所革命同盟"在"twitter"上发表的字迹图片上的字邊均出自于被告人季孝龙笔迹。
9、公安机关出具的受案登记表,案发经过情况说明,证实本案的案发经过及被告人季孝龙到案的情况。
10、公安机关出具人员档案信息,行政处罚决定书,证实被告人季孝龙的身份情况及劣迹情况。
本院认为,被告人季孝龙为发泄不满情绪,多次在公共场所书写煽动性、污蔑性标语,造成公共场所秩序严重混乱,破坏社会秩序,已构成寻衅滋事罪。公诉机关指控被告人季孝龙犯罪的事实清楚,证据确实、充分,罪名成立。关于被告人季孝龙及辨护人提出被告人季孝龙的行为不构成犯罪的意见,经审理查明,被告人季孝龙的寻衅滋事犯罪,有证人证言,相关照片,鉴定意见书,相关书证、视频等证据证实,足以认定,故被告人季孝龙及辩护人的相关意见,本院依法不予采纳。被告人季孝龙到案后如实供述犯罪事实,其对行为性质的辩解不影响坦白的认定,可以从轻处罚。综上,本院为维护社会公共秩序,依照《中华人民共和国刑法》第二百九十三条第一款第(四)项、第六十七条第三款的规定,判决如下:
被告人季孝龙犯寻衅滋事罪,判处有期徒刑三年六个月。(刑期从判决执行之日起计算。判决执行以前先行羁押的,羁押一日折抵刑期一日,即自2018年9月30日起至2022年2月9日止。
如不服本判决,可在接到判决书的第二日起十日内,请过本院或者直接向上海市第一中级人民法院提出上诉。书面上诉的,应当提交上诉状正本一份,副本二份。
审判长 [原文难以辨认]
人民陪审员 [原文难以辨认]
人民陪审员 [原文难以辨认]
二〇一九年一月十四日
书记员 马丹虹
