It is never easy to judge the truth or falsehood, which is one of my experiences as a legal reporter.
The so-called “truth” is often like a black box, submerged in the deep sea of time, and it is not easy to restore the panorama after it happens.
This is especially true in a recent rape and perjury case that I covered.
1
According to police records, in the early morning hours of June 18, 2017, Xiao Meng’s friend Mr. Zhu called 110 – “the caller said his friend was raped by the leader yesterday and asked the police to come to the scene to deal with it.”
I wrote down Mr. Zhu’s phone number and was prepared to not be able to get through, or to be rejected. But unexpectedly, the voice on the other side of the phone sounded generous and sincere. Mr. Zhu not only answered many of my questions, but also agreed to meet the next day for a detailed chat.
By the time Mr. Zhu sat across from me in late March 2019, it had been almost two years since he had accompanied Dream to report the case.
Mr. Zhu said that Xiaomeng called him at one or two o’clock that morning: “I happened to be out socializing that day, I asked her what was going on, she did not say, just crying, I took a taxi over.”
Mr. Zhu judged that Xiao Meng must have been in some kind of trouble.
He and Xiao Meng is a hometown, student days had a very long relationship, and later because they are in Shanghai development, also have correspondence. I asked, Xiao Meng must trust you, or would not call you for help. Mr. Zhu said yes, “she (then) just came to Shanghai, there are no friends, so to speak”.
Mr. Zhu went to Meng’s dormitory, “she did not turn on the light, I said turn on the light, she did not allow. She cowered in the corner of the bed, still crying”. Mr. Zhu can only try to comfort, “just say some of the things …… she finally cried, only intermittently said this thing”.
Xiao Meng said she was violated by her boss Ma the night before – “she felt drunk, but a little consciousness wanted to resist …… on saying she was very reluctant, (but) could not push this kind of. “
Mr. Zhu said he was furious, the first reaction was to call the police – in Mr. Zhu’s account, after breaking up with him, Meng has not talked about other boyfriends, “she is very good girl …… this is a girl’s The first time ah!”
For the report, but the dream is very hesitant, Mr. Zhu also hesitated, “let others know is a ruined reputation, she will still how to marry?”
But Mr. Zhu did not hesitate for long, and made a decision inside.
Xiao Meng was born in 1992, when she just turned 25. “She was so innocent that she never drank and bar-hopped before she joined this company.” Mr. Zhu said, at that time he also remembered another incident, half a month before that, once Xiao Meng also called him at night, saying that her housemate took her to a bar in Baoshan District, a bartender always pestered her, she was quite afraid. At that time, Mr. Zhu was far away, afraid that it was too late to stop, but also let a friend who lives close to go to see, fortunately nothing happened later, “(and so) I went to see her on the side of the road, I sent her back to the dormitory.”
Within a few days, there was still an incident.
From Xiaomeng’s account Zhu also learned that, and Ma Mou together, Xiaomeng’s cell phone has not been in her own body, “she just want to go to the police also have no way,” he felt that Xiaomeng is calculated: “do not report it so past, light may still happen, heavy she may be threatened, and later every day as a mistress, you know it?”
Mr. Zhu said that these considerations of his own, some told Xiaomeng, some did not, but in the end he insisted on the police – “must let the wrongdoers get punished.” Dream also agreed, only to explain to him several times, “saying that if I tell her parents, she will go to death. I said don’t worry about it”.
While waiting for the police to come to the door, Xiaomeng’s two housemates also woke up, “they said ‘ah this thing happened, quite unwarranted’, we exchanged pleasantries, they expressed sympathy”. The two housemates are also colleagues in the company, the two said some of their understanding of things: for example, the night before last, we get together for dinner, Dream did drink a lot, “Dream may be a little sad in the heart, the boss has been talking to her, and kept going to drink with her, probably this is the meaning”.
After listening to their narrative, Mr. Zhu felt that his heart was then considered the bottom, thought that since there are housemates to testify, the case of Xiaomeng should not be too complicated.
He did not realize at that time how naive he was in this idea.
2
But when I subsequently met with two of Meng’s housemates, I heard a very different story from Mr. Zhu.
“Outgoing”, “cuddling”, “feeling messy” …… these words were used frequently by them to describe Xiao Meng. In the context of a rape case, these are more or less derogatory in nature.
On Friday night, June 16, 2017, the recently established e-commerce company had a dinner gathering with 19 employees and opened a bottle of fruit wine for dinner.
Roommate Zhang Li said that everyone did not drink much that night, “someone toast on a glass of wine, but basically the girls’ wine I helped them block, I was doing administrative supervisor at that time.”
Another housemate Zhang Mei also said, Meng did not drink much, “is a tall glass to drink half a cup, because we are not persuaded to drink, so she drank that small half a cup later, drink plain water or tea, anyway, it is not wine.”
Zhang Mei is Zhang Li’s cousin, the two and Xiaomeng rent a two-bedroom apartment together, Xiaomeng live in one, the two sisters live in one.
After dinner, the group went to sing K again, Zhang Li’s description began to enrich:.
“In the (KTV’s) supermarket inside encounter Xiao Meng, she took Ma X’s wallet, ready to buy things. Then we followed along into (the box) to go.” Then the waiter brought in a case of beer, “24 bottles, the kind of small bottles, poured into a large zipper pot, each person took a cup to share.” Zhang Li said that everyone clinked glasses and started to play their own, she went to sing a few songs, “turned around and saw two people together, Meng and Ma X – is holding together, Meng’s whole body on his body.
I asked her if Xiao Meng was drunk to do so.
Zhang Li immediately said: “No – but earlier we all saw her holding Ma X’s wallet, and did not say anything.” She said that in the KTV, Meng and Ma have been very close, like saying something, but the KTV is too noisy, she could not hear.
We then played dice for a while, Xiaomeng and Ma Mou group, Zhang Li Zhang Mei group, Xiaomeng and Ma Mou lost more, “two people want to drink, Ma X sometimes drink two cups, Xiaomeng also grabbed to drink themselves, sometimes also help him to bring, anyway, on the grab and go.”
But Zhang Li once again stressed that Xiao Meng did not get drunk, because when doing the game, “we will also rely on a little, she will not relent to see, this can be calculated clearly ……”
And so the night is getting deeper, one after another people leave. The company’s main business is to provide a wide range of products and services to the public. I see is a small dream, took the package away. After going downstairs, we found that Xiao Meng and Ma Mou is not in, “they said they are still in the toilet, I called the two boys up to see. Half a day did not come down, we are hungry, someone said to eat some midnight snacks while eating, we went to eat midnight snacks”.
Just ordered something, Ma’s driver Xiao Xu received a call, “he said the boss is leaving, he went to send the boss back”.
Waiting for Zhang Li Zhang Mei after dinner taxi back home, is already June 17, four or five o’clock in the morning. After a while, Zhang Mei received a call from the driver Xiao Xu, “he asked if he could go to my house to lie on the sofa for a while”.
Xiaoxu was Zhang Mei’s boyfriend at the time, usually rented with the boss Ma, this time said to come over to live, Zhang Mei did not ask more. “She (Xiaomeng) went to Ma X’s home, think about it can (know) what happened, we all feel very normal. Because of what we saw in the box, Xiao Meng should have an ambiguous relationship with Ma X.”
Zhang Mei said she saw Meng again is already the afternoon of June 17, Meng came back, “about 4 o’clock. I asked her where you went, she did not say, and went to the shower and makeup, changed clothes. I asked where you go, she said to go downstairs for a stroll”. Xiao Meng this away, until 9:00 p.m. to return. “I said how about all right, she said fine, played with the phone for a while, went into the room to sleep“.
Zhang Mei said that night she slept on the living room sofa, in a daze in the middle of the night heard Xiao Meng opened the door, a man came in, “is Xiao Meng’s ex-boyfriend”. Zhang Mei said he heard the two first in the living room to say a few words, and then went to the small dream of the room, “the man said, you believe me, we call the police, I heard her crying hard, the man said, we must call the police”.
Zhang Li also said that Zhang Mei came into the room in the middle of the night to her and said, “Xiao Meng her ex-boyfriend came and said Ma X on her, so I said really false?” Zhang Li stressed that his surprise came from – that night the overall performance of the small dream seems to be the desire to return the welcome, and in KTV, “small dream first and another married colleague Zhai X hand in hand – just under the table they pulled I accidentally saw it”.
Zhang Mei said she also saw, “hands are hitched together …… then felt as if a little chaotic.”
Zhang Li went on to lament, “Girls with the boss, I think too much. Now this society ……”
3
After reporting the case, Xiaomeng went to the Public Security Bureau, and the first statement was made at 8:53 a.m. on June 18, 2017.
Xiaomeng said: the dinner “I drank a little red wine”, to the KTV, “I and Ma X began to play dice drinking, I will not, play lost a lot, drank a lot of wine, are some not sober, and then someone poured me wine I drink …… my consciousness is very fuzzy”, she hazily remembered that someone helped her go to the toilet, “in the toilet I remember Ma X face to face holding me, and I said a lot of words, but I’m not sure what he said to me”.
After coming out of the toilet, “people are almost gone”, Xiao Meng remembered Ma said home, “I said I want to go back to where I live, after the things I do not remember. How to get to Ma’s house, Xiao Meng can not remember, but she remembers, “I found (there) is not my home, I told him that I want to go back, he did not speak”.
The company’s main business is to provide a wide range of products and services to the public. I have not sobered up, I have no strength, I can not push”. “He pressed me …… I kept screaming in pain, but Ma X got more and more energetic”, “after Ma X asked me if I was a virgin, I told him I was the first time”.
The company’s main business is to provide a wide range of products and services to its customers. She said she was lying on the living room sofa when Ma pulled her into bed again and told her to get some rest.
After resting for a while, Ma told her to eat lunch, “I’m not sober enough to eat, and I don’t want to eat”, June 17 at about 1 p.m., “Ma X took advantage of my sleep …… to touch me again …… I told him ‘you don’t do this to me, I’m scared’, and Ma X said to me, ‘I turned you from a girl into a woman'”.
The police took the case and went to Ma’s residence and took him away. Ma was born in 1984, junior high school education, married, the case file shows that he “came to work in Shanghai in 2012, went to work in Beijing in 2013, came to Shanghai again in 2017, before the crime is the head of a Shanghai e-commerce Co.
Ma’s first statement was made on June 18 from 11:30 to 13:30, his description of what happened and Xiao Meng told completely different.
Ma said: the night before he drank, so he wanted to go home early to rest, “we both slept without taking off our clothes, after a while, she said I snored noisy to her, then we both half awake, dazed I realized she came to untie my belt, I took off my pants ……”
He said that after the relationship, they then rested, and he also cooked at noon, but Xiao Meng did not eat much, “more than 2 pm …… I took off my pants, she took off her skirt, had sex …… after I lay down for a while to take a shower, probably almost to 4 pm, she walked home, I took a taxi back to the company.”
Police retrieved two surveillance, one is 4:58 a.m. June 17, 2017, Ma and Xiaomeng together into the community building, the two appeared in the camera for a few seconds, the police officer on the case said, “go in when you can see that Xiaomeng needed assistance at the time.”
The next surveillance video is longer, 4:59 a.m., the two walked into the elevator together – “it is obvious that the suspect Ma Mou was struggling, because he had to hold Xiaomeng again, and press the elevator. I saw him repeatedly to hold Xiao Meng to the right, then it means that Xiao Meng’s whole body is paralyzed in Ma Mou, her feet have no strength”.
Surveillance video of Xiaomeng and Ma in the elevator (provided by the author) (Source: NetEase)
What happened thereafter is not proven by any surveillance, only the very different accounts of the two parties, Ma Mou and Xiaomeng.
The police said the most basic definition of rape is “having sex with a woman against her will”, so the state of Meng at the time is the key to the case – “if she was in a drunken state, then there is no If she was in a drunken state, then there is no way to make a correct judgment, if this time to have sex, afterwards the woman is not willing, can be considered rape – this is also a key to determine the crime of Ma and not guilty.”
4
After that, the police found Xiao Meng colleagues who went to the same dinner that night to hear what they had to say.
Zhang Li is the first to make a statement, the afternoon of June 18, she said “in the restaurant when the specific number of drinks I’m not sure, in the KTV booth, we drank a bottle of wine and a box and a half of beer. Asked whether Xiao Meng’s mental state is sober, Zhang Li replied, “I’m not very clear about the specific.”
Zhang Mei’s first statement was made on June 22, the police asked “how much wine Xiaomeng drank?” Zhang Mei replied, “We 4 people play dice, drink a box or so of beer …… Xiaomeng’s bag and cell phone are here in my sister, my sister helped her take home, she was drunk.”
In addition to the two housemates, the police also focused on two informants for forensics: one is the driver Xiaoxu, who finally sent Ma and Xiaomeng home; and one is a company intern Xiaohu.
Xiao Xu in the first statement clearly said: “she was drunk”, “she went to the bathroom are being held up, I feel that she was drunk.”
Police asked Xiaoxu, since he usually rented with Ma, the day the Ma Xiaomeng sent back, why not upstairs? Xiaoxu said, “I know that after Ma took Xiaomeng upstairs, there will be some things that happen between men and women, I also understand this, and did not go up.”
He later added: “Ma told me he sleeps on the sofa and let Xiaomeng sleep on the big bed, at that time I felt awkward when I heard it, and I was hungry, so I said I would go buy breakfast.” Subsequently, he went to his girlfriend Zhang Mei.
Ma rented a house and a small dream dormitory in the same district, but that night from the KTV, Xiaoxu then neither picked up Zhang Mei Zhang Li – according to his explanation, “This is Ma’s intention, I asked him, he let us go straight home. Zhang Li and Zhang Mei he let them find their own way back”; to the community did not send home the small dream – “she was drunk, the car is also Ma support, after the car she fell back to sleep, fell on Ma lap”.
The intern, Xiao Hu, provided more information.
He told the police, in the KTV Meng obviously drunk, “her hands open, limbs on the need to express someone to help, we know she has been drunk, and then I and Ma will help her to the toilet door”. Xiaohu said, later, “I returned to the toilet, Xiao Meng was already outside the toilet door”.
What happened next, Xiaohu told Xiao Meng all the next day.
On June 17, Xiaohu 3 times to send a WeChat friend application to Xiaomeng, Xiaomeng at 3:58 p.m. through – should be the afternoon after she sobered up to get the phone – WeChat, Xiaohu asked her, “How? Feeling better?” And also said, “Drink less wine, in fact, a lot of the time it will make people feel very sour.”
In WeChat, Xiao Hu told Xiao Meng.
“I just want to say all that I saw. Last night I saw the Ma total to you like that, look at yourself are sulking …… actually drink too much wine, very good to deal with a thing, I now kind of see the Ma total.
“You staggered out, I said Ma, you put your hand on my shoulder, the ground is slippery, he said roll calf, and finally I had to go down with Han.
“I know you had been drinking a lot by then, several times to try to do something about it, and finally all by him.
After the incident Xiaowu sent to Xiaomeng’s WeChat (author’s photo) After the incident Xiaowu sent to Xiaomeng’s WeChat (author’s photo)
“After you drank last night, Zhang Li and Zhang Mei, if they say directly to you to take home on the good, there will not be so many things, people some times really let people guess.”
Finally, Xiaohu said, he ended his internship will go back home. The young man, born in 2000, urged Xiao Meng: “Don’t drink anymore, drinking too much is not good for your body, and at the same time may hurt you.”
5
The case of Ma Mou’s alleged rape of Xiao Meng was soon transferred from the public security to the prosecutor’s office and the court. 12 December 2017, the first trial session, Zhang Mei, Zhang Li, Xiao Xu, Xiao Hu four witnesses will testify.
No one expected that at this point there was a twist.
Zhang Mei was the first to appear in court, she said bluntly that Xiao Meng did not drink much at all that night, “drinking when she did not finish”. This is too different from the first time she made a statement that “she was drunk”.
The prosecutor again confirmed: “Did the victim get drunk when she went to the bathroom?” Zhang Mei replied: “No, I feel very sober. She was holding Ma X when she was very sober.”
Zhang Li was the second to appear in court and the prosecutor asked, “Are you sure the victim did not drink a lot that night?”
“Yes, I was sober when I saw her.”
“Why did you think the victim was sober?”
“I know the victim’s drinking capacity.” Zhang Li said that the three of them live together, “the relationship is very close, sometimes drink at dinner, I have seen her can drink two or three bottles of beer, is no problem.”
The two housemates’ change of mouth caught the prosecutor off guard: four witnesses had confessed in the public security organs that Xiao Meng was drunk, which is also an important piece of evidence used by the prosecution to prove that Xiao Meng could not resist and was raped that night.
The third person to appear in court was Xiao Xu, who was the last person to see Ma and Meng that night. The prosecutor asked, “Do you feel that the victim was drunk?”
Xiao Xu said, “No.”
“Is (Xiao Meng) walking wobbly or staggering?”
“It’s not a very steady walk, and it’s not very floaty.”
The last person to appear in court was Xiao Hu, who was not yet 18 years old, because he looked slightly mature, the judge confirmed his age several times with him, and also stressed that in court testimony to tell the truth, “If you tell a lie, by the public security organs to find out, you will be held criminally responsible, understand?”
Xiao Hu nodded, and then signed the pledge to testify truthfully in accordance with the procedure.
Xiao Hu spoke up and said, “I think she was sober, she may have been unwell, but not drunk.”
The prosecutor asked, “Why is it different from what you said before?”
“The specifics of the previous transcript are not very clear, I don’t remember what was said.”
The prosecutor read a few more paragraphs of the WeChat that Xiaohu had sent to Xiaomeng in court, then gave them to Xiaohu to look over and asked him how he wanted to explain them. Xiaohu admitted that he had sent them, “just a simple concern,” but with regard to the content whose meaning clearly pointed to Xiao Meng’s drunkenness, Xiaohu stammered for a while before saying, “My thought at the time was that it was inappropriate for an employee of the company to be with management,” “I don’t think she was drunk, I mean the victim was not feeling well at the time.”
When testifying, the four witnesses were sitting in front of the defendant Ma’s left, except for the process of walking up to the witness stand they could see Ma, other times all back to Ma. They spoke most of the time, Ma Mou look to them, a few times Ma Mou with a hand to support the head, buried, and raised.
The biggest physical movement of Ma Mou occurred when Xiao Hu testified, when he moved his body somewhat anxiously, squinting his eyes at Xiao Hu, and then lowered his head.
So far, several witnesses in the trial collectively retracted, and all confirmed that “to the court statement prevails”.
6
Usually, rape cases occur in secrecy and lack of core evidence. But previously, the police had learned of a lot of circumstantial evidence in the case – Xiao Meng went to the hospital for a diagnosis after reporting the crime, “the girl hadn’t been in trouble before, so it’s unlikely that she would have reported the rape for other purposes”; the surveillance that had been found “can see who is in the lead”; there are no other tearing injuries on Xiaomeng’s body, “(probably) she did not happen some violent injuries due to drunkenness”.
The four witnesses’ testimonies “are important to prove that this key episode (whether she was drunk or not),” “if this is to be turned off, then the direction of the case will change greatly.
In March 2018, the public prosecution section of the prosecutor’s office sent a letter to the public security authorities pointing out that because several witnesses made testimonies that were inconsistent with the previous investigation stage, the case could not be successfully adjudicated and the public security authorities were advised to open a case for investigation. After that, four witnesses suspected of perjury case was officially accepted.
The first place the police went was Xiao Hu’s old home. Under education, Xiao Hu quickly admitted that he had committed perjury and was then brought back to Shanghai for detailed investigation. During the interrogation, Xiao Hu recounted the entire process of premeditated perjury.
Before the trial of Ma’s alleged rape case, the court notified Xiaohu to appear as a witness, and at first he tried to shrug it off – he thought he was not even in Shanghai, so why toss it. “Then Niu X, my friend, called me to go, and he said I was also quite an important witness, and said that everything had been arranged over there.”
Niu Mou made several phone calls to persuade Xiao Hu, Xiao Hu understood in his heart, Niu Mou is a friend of Ma Mou, must be to help him speak for Ma Mou. He also thought, after the incident he made a statement in the public security, “I was told that you said bad things about Ma in the police station, out of Ma to find someone to kill you.
The company’s main business is to provide a wide range of products and services to the public.
The company’s main business is to provide a wide range of products and services to its customers.
The trial was in the afternoon, and after arriving near the court at noon, Xiao Hu was taken into a restaurant, where he met a man named “Brother Yang”, who instructed them to “let us say she was not drunk”.
After the trial, Xiao Hu followed everyone to the court side of the cafe, this time Brother Yang and Ma’s lawyer are in, “the lawyer began to review us, said I said in court some ambiguity, afterwards if there are people to ask me ‘why in court and at the beginning to say different’, let me say that at the beginning of the public security there to make a statement did not look carefully on the signature ……”
After the trial, Zhang Li transferred him 300 yuan for accommodation, and later reimbursed him for the round-trip travel expenses according to the screenshot.
Soon, the public security authorities brought Zhang Li, Zhang Mei, Xiao Xu, Yang and other people to investigate.
The company also quickly admitted to perjury: “the day of the dinner when Xiao Meng drank two or three glasses of red wine, after the KTV singing five or six bottles of beer, I said in court that she drank five or six glasses of beer; also, Xiao Meng was drunk, I said she was not drunk; and we met the defense attorney before the trial, I said in court that I had not seen. “
Xiao Xu admitted that before the trial, “the lawyer came up to us and said that the trial asked about ‘whether the victim was drunk’ and asked us to answer ‘the victim was not drunk’; asked about ‘how much the victim How much wine’, let us answer drank a little, say less; ask about in the KTV box ‘the victim and Ma have intimate contact’, you 4 have to answer Xiao Meng in the private room hugging Ma total …… In short, let us 4 answer the question, all of us should speak in the direction of Ma’s favor.”
Immediately after that, Xiao Xu also provided some information that Xiao Hu did not know.
November 26, 2017, the company within a Zhai leadership built a WeChat group, the group has Xiao Xu, Zhang Li, Zhang Mei and Yang, Zhai said in the group said, “the court should be truthful about the actual situation on the day,” and also said, “note that we were not drunk that day.”
Zhang Li had asked in the group, “the child surnamed Hu behind also determine whether to use?” Yang said “call and say”, and then attached his phone number.
On the day of the trial, Yang said to Xiao Xu in the group: “You are the most critical, KTV out you have been accompanied by Ma, when the situation you must be clear, to speak truthfully, do not be afraid! We have to fight for justice.”
After saying this, Yang also modified the name of the group to “fight for justice! Ma General Working Group”.
Xu only returned a “hmm”.
After eating together at noon, the four witnesses kept in touch with Yang. Before Xiao Xu testified, Yang asked him, “Are you done?” He replied, “No, just the second witness went in, and two more witnesses are waiting.” Xiao Xu testified and then weiboed with Yang: “I’m out, Brother Yang, in the lounge, waiting for the fourth witness to finish.” Yang asked: “All clear? No tension, right …… asked you drunk thing? You told me the other day the police let so speak, today speak?” Xiaoxu replied: “Speaking …… judge let me change the transcript later, I said the police let me write like this.” Yang said: “Okay, you all have to change the transcript.”
Yang Mou and driver Xiao Xu’s WeChat (author’s photo) Yang Mou and driver Xiao Xu’s WeChat (author’s photo) during the trial
However, even with these confessions and WeChat records as evidence, Zhang Li and Zhang Mei still keep denying that they have perjured themselves. Zhang Li said she thought Yang was an organizer, responsible for convening several of their witnesses, to notify the time and place, they did not change their testimony at its behest; Zhang Mei also said, and Yang dealt with a hasty two sides, eating lunch she did not pay attention to what Yang said, in the cafe she just drank coffee, as for the WeChat group, she did not pay attention to what was sent.
Yang shouted that he was wronged, saying he was only entrusted by a friend to help Ma hire a lawyer. The four witnesses to the meeting, his account changed several times, a moment to say “I want to ask them to ask the victim (Xiao Meng) contact information, because Ma X’s wife wants to talk to the victim compensation”, a moment to say “because the lawyer is not convenient to meet with the four witnesses, so I want to help The first thing you need to do is to get the information you need.
The public security authorities eventually found that the four witnesses perjured themselves, and the case of Ma’s alleged rape was able to move forward.
On September 4, 2018, the court convicted Ma of rape and sentenced him to five years in prison. Ma filed an appeal, and on December 18, 2018, the higher court rejected Ma’s appeal and upheld the original sentence.
In January 2019, the court held a trial of several witnesses suspected of perjury and Yang suspected of obstructing testimony. After that, the court sentenced Xiao Xu to 1 year and 2 months in prison, Zhang Li to 1 year and 3 months, Zhang Mei to 1 year and 3 months, Xiao Hu to 10 months, and Yang to 1 year and 4 months.
Afterwards, Zhang Li and Zhang Mei filed an appeal. Xiao Xu obeyed the verdict and is serving his sentence. At the time of my interview, Xiao Hu had served his sentence and regained his freedom.
On March 20, 2019, the second trial of the case began, and Zhang Li and Zhang Mei still did not admit to perjury.
7
I called Mr. Zhu the day after the trial, and he still did not know that Ma had been sentenced.
Hearing the news, Mr. Zhu said on the other end of the phone, “It’s so uplifting, I think I was right to call the police for this decision! Because I also took a lot of pressure …… you know.”
I asked him why he didn’t go to court when the case of Ma Mou’s alleged rape began. He sighed and said that the court had notified him by phone before the trial, “I asked at the time, the party (small dream) to go? The other side said she did not go, then I did not go”.
Subsequently, Mr. Zhu said, that day he accompanied Xiaomeng to report the case, a company leader came to the Public Security Bureau at noon, “the man also invited everyone (to do the statement of colleagues) to go out to dinner together, but also together to chat. Mr. Zhu was cold-eyed watching several people standing in one place, “smoking together, but also particularly relaxed, talking and laughing, negotiating”, he vaguely felt that things were developing in a direction beyond his control – wait until the afternoon when the police came to give Zhang Li a statement, things “then and the morning with me said some changes.” Mr. Zhu then apparently felt that the company’s employees are “trying to help that Ma, perhaps on the string of some confessions, to avoid all these substantive matters.
Later, Mr. Zhu also heard that the company looked for a small dream to talk, “seems to be the same level of leadership with Ma X, then said that Ma X committed a confused thing, but also said he has a wife and children or something, let him go”.
Mr. Zhu also guessed that the trial would not be too smooth, but after hearing about the witness retracted in court, or a little speechless: “out of this kind of thing, friends also gave her a knife in the back, she also took them as good friends it ……”
I don’t know when to start, Xiaomeng pulled Mr. Zhu’s WeChat black, phone calls can not be reached, he also heart tacitly no longer go to Xiaomeng: “If I suddenly appeared in her life inside, she thought of is a nightmare, right?”
On March 26, the Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court issued a final judgment, rejecting the appeal and upholding the original verdict.
At 1:00 a.m. on March 27, Mr. Zhu sent me a weibo message, turning a small video of a group of boys and girls laughing and playing by an earthen wall in the countryside, and he sent, “My childhood with her,” and again, “For a meeting with parents… …eight years of simple (persistent?) , once the real life …… can not change their pride ……”
I think Mr. Zhu may be too much to drink, full of complex emotions can only type these broken sentences remnants. He had previously told me that he and Xiao Meng had been in love for many years, childhood sweethearts, because of a problem with meeting the parents had fallen out. They were both too proud of their youth and split up, and no one ever looked back. When they met again in Shanghai, he had already started a family and become a father.
I guess, Mr. Zhu may still feel guilty, because that night at the KTV, Xiao Meng heart hiding some “sad things”, probably related to him.
After a while, Mr. Zhu sent: “I hope you do not bother her life …… only afraid to follow the vine,” “Anhao miscarriage of justice.”
I think he wanted to say “Anhao do not hope” it, then wish the little dream all the best.
(All characters in this article are pseudonyms)
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