Li Anqi is detained in Beijing Xicheng Detention Center. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
On March 30, Ms. Yang, who lives in Changchun City, Jilin Province, approached a reporter to report the situation of the Xicheng District Public Prosecutor’s Office in Beijing for creating an unjust case and the Xicheng District police officer handling the case for extortion and blackmail.
Ms. Yang disclosed, “After five years of trial by two levels of courts, my daughter Li Anqi was unjustly sentenced to ten years on January 14, 2021, after she did not confess to the crime and there was insufficient evidence and many doubts. The Beijing High Court ordered that the media not be allowed to report it. My daughter did not commit a crime; the real crime was committed by the public prosecutor of Beijing’s Xicheng District. They kidnapped my daughter by legal means, extorted our Family, and finally pushed my daughter into prison because of my complaint.”
Ms. Yang told the reporter what happened to her and Angie Li.
Ms. Yang said, “Anqi Li and Xingyue Zhang are best friends, both are post-90s, both studied in Australia, and have known each other for 8 years. After returning to China, Anqi Li registered her own clothing company in Hong Kong, while buying Luxury goods on her behalf. Zhang Xingyue, on the other hand, went to the UK.”
On March 28, 2016, Zhang Xingyue suddenly reported to the police that Angie Li pretended to be a master fortune teller and defrauded her of more than one million dollars through WeChat, and took Li to court. The case drew a lot of media attention back then and was also reported on one after another.
In order to fight for her daughter, Ms. Yang hired more than a dozen lawyers to represent her during the five years. She revealed, “Every lawyer thought my daughter was wrongly accused, and they all gave An Qi a not guilty plea.”
Forced confessions, induced confessions, and refusal to produce synchronized video recordings of interrogations
Ms. Yang has not been allowed to meet with her daughter since she was detained, and she has been getting some news about her from her lawyers and the release officers of the detention center.
Ms. Yang revealed, “On April 5, 2016, Li Anqi received her first interrogation at the Guangwai Police Station in Beijing’s Xicheng District. The police officer in charge of the case, Li Qiming, said, ‘Zhang Xingyue found someone, it is to cure her ……’ Police officer Mai Xiangguo and Li Qiming took Li Anqi outside the police station and threatened her, ‘If you do not confess to the crime, directly stripped naked and raped. If you cooperate with the police, confess to the crime, and your mother is willing to pay, you can take bail and go Home.’ They asked Angie, ‘How much are you worth in your mother’s heart? One million or ten million?’ They also wrote their personal phone numbers on a note and put it on Angie, asking the lawyer to pass it on to me when she met with them, so that I could take the initiative to call them.”
Part of the verdict in Angie Li’s case. “The investigator mistakenly deleted the business information from Li Anqi’s cell phone; Zhang Xingyue printed the evidence materials on her own because her cell phone had privacy and she could not provide evidence. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
“After Anqi was sent to the detention center, the Xicheng District Pre-Trial Brigade case officers Chen Chi and Sun Limin threatened and intimidated Anqi into confessing to the crime. Before each interrogation, they talked to her about the details of the case, and they told Anqi to remember the details of the case and keep her confession stable. And bring word to me that as long as I give money, Anqi Li can go home.”
On December 28, 2017, the first trial began, and Li Anqi stated in court the process of being forced to confess, deceitful confessions, induced confessions, and blackmail, hoping that the court could access the simultaneous video recording of the interrogation, which was rejected by the judge, “that is, there is no video recording, what can you do, no video recording does the court still not handle the case?”
The verdict of the Xicheng District Court mentioned that Li Anqi was interrogated several times in the detention center, when the synchronized video recording was taken, but the synchronized video recording could not be extracted because the police computer was invaded by a virus. Eventually, Li Anqi in the public security organs of the multiple confessions, the court will not be used as the basis for the case.
“The case is so full of doubts that it is impossible to find beyond reasonable doubt that appellant Li Anqi constitutes a fraud crime.” Li Anqi’s defense lawyer Xiao Zhi’e introduced the retrial of the first trial after the verdict, Li Anqi filed an appeal.
Part of the verdict in the case of Anqi Li. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
The police and prosecutors in the case demanded a large amount of “ransom”
Ms. Yang disclosed, “Soon after Anqi was arrested, Li Qiming called me and said he was the police officer who arrested Anqi, asking me if I had received the note and why I had not called him. He said he was willing to help coordinate and get Li Anqi home as long as I came up with $2 million. I said I was willing to take the money for my daughter’s safety, but I was afraid that someone would impersonate a police officer and scam him as long as he could prove his identity.”
“After a week or so, I received a phone call from Che Jinding, a retired police officer from the Xicheng Public Security Bureau Pre-Trial Brigade, who said that he was entrusted to meet with me regarding Li Anqi. After the meeting, he showed me two photos, one of Li Anqi with a puffy face, lying on the ground in a cloak, and one of her in a red prison uniform in handcuffs.”
“Che told me that Chen Chi, who is now handling the case, is his disciple, Sun Limin is his old colleague, and Mai Xiangguo and Li Qiming are his forgotten friends. He said that Li Anqi had offended someone, Zhang Xingyue found someone to spend money to set up the case, if you want Li Anqi to return home safely, there is only one way to break the money. Let me prepare 2 million, and gave me that photo of Angie in handcuffs, saying that if you do not give up the money to look at the photo.”
Later, Ms. Yang said she only had 1.5 million. “On April 26, 2016, when I saw Che Jinding again, he asked me to transfer 800,000 to Zhang Xingyue’s card and 700,000 in cash to him. By him to Chen Chi, the remaining 500,000, Li Anqi home within a week to send them over. Che said that the public security authorities can arrest people at will, but they can’t just let them go. Asked me to sign a settlement agreement with Zhang Xin Yue, Zhang then write a letter of understanding, with a transfer deposit slip, bail application, the public security authorities can release people.”
Ms. Yang never waited for her daughter to be released home, but Li Anqi was arrested instead. She found the prosecutor of Xicheng Procuratorate, Qu Xiaolei, and asked what the reason for the approval of the arrest was. The other side replied, “You don’t need evidence to make an arrest, just because there’s no evidence now doesn’t mean there won’t be any in the future. Want to let Li Anqi home, you know how to do, the public price of the West City you should know.”
The case is full of doubts lawyers do not guilty plea
Li Anqi said in his appeal brief, “Zhang Xingyue and Yuan Hao Yu (Zhang Xingyue accused Li Anqi of introducing her boyfriend Yuan Hao Yu is Li Anqi impersonation) met less than 2 months, have not met, through the conversation, not even voice video chat, but within 2 months, in Zhang himself are very short of money, need to fill the hole in the case, for him to throw millions, not reasonable, can not Reasonable doubt can not be ruled out. I hope the court of second instance can check the facts and clear my name.”
Part of the verdict of Li Anqi’s case. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
According to public media reports, during the second trial, Xu Xin, a well-known Beijing lawyer, also submitted a preliminary defense opinion to the court, stating that Li Anqi’s innocence could be sufficiently proven from three aspects. First, there is no objective evidence to prove that Li Anqi falsely created and impersonated three people’s WeChat accounts; second, the key evidence for the first trial, the chat records provided by the informant Zhang Xingyue, are of unknown origin, the content is not true, illogical and illogical; the judicial Appraisal of Li Anqi’s cell phone is of unknown origin; and the contradictions between the two are numerous and cannot be used as evidence for conviction; third, there is a large amount of financial transactions between Li Anqi and Zhang Xingyue. Third, there is a large amount of financial transactions between Angela Lee and Zhang Xin Yue, and the money involved in the case has been reduced, and Zhang Xin Yue still owes money to Angela Lee.
Ms. Yang revealed that “Zhang Xin Yue’s father is an official of the Inner Mongolia Safety Production Supervision Bureau. Zhang Xin Yue borrowed An Qi’s bank account and asked her father and aunt to transfer money to her, a total of 730,000 yuan. The money was used to buy a Beijing hukou. I reported the matter of Zhang Xin Yue buying a household registration and got a reply from the Beijing Discipline Inspection Commission, who said it was true.”
Finally, Ms. Yang said bitterly, “I wanted to take extreme action when the National Day parade took place. But at that Time I still had a glimmer of hope in the public prosecutor and the law. But now I have seen them clearly, eating human flesh and drinking human blood. Every time I go to the State Bureau of Letters and Calls, I need to queue up at 9 a.m. on the first day, and I can only get in the next morning, all day long, and I can’t even go to the toilet, people are crowded, but when I go in, they don’t even accept the materials.”
“They all know that the people are unjust, and every time I see those judges and prosecutors, I can imagine them laughing in their hearts. I know there is no way to redress the grievances, but I still want to speak out and show the world how dark China’s public prosecution is!” She said.
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