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Convicted policemen go free and back on beat Yue Jianjun, a long-time judge, could not figure out how two convicted policemen managed to walk out of the courtroom not guilty. What puzzled him even more is that they still serve at the local public security bureau. "As a judge and a local citizen, I can't accept that a criminal is out there in our community and serves as a police officer," Yue said. In February, Yue, the top judge of the Xintian County Court in Central China's Hunan Province, handled the case involving the two officers, who were accused of failing to make proper disposition of stolen goods. The policeman at the centre of the investigation, Liu Peng, 26, also the head of the Dapingtang town police station, and his colleague Jiang Gaoxiang, 26, were convicted of buying stolen vehicles and selling them at a higher price. Tang Chaohe, a local farmer who is accused of selling the stolen cars to them, is still at large after jumping bail. Their jobs as police officers provided easy access for making fake ID cards and cachets to obtain ownership of the cars. From August 2003 to January 2004, they amassed 200,000 yuan (US$24,700) from the sale of 10 stolen cars. In a single transaction, they bought a stolen car at 12,000 yuan (US$1,480) and sold it for 24,000 yuan (US$2,960) to a local villager. Local prosecutors learnt of the transactions in December 2004 and charged them. Upon their conviction, Yue sentenced each of them two years in jail and three years of probation, with a fine of 10,000 yuan (US$1,230). But Liu and Jiang appealed to the Yongzhou Intermediate People's Court. On April 28, the intermediate court upheld part of the previous verdict but exempted them from the penalties and set them free on the grounds that the officers had returned the money and showed regret. They were subsequently expelled from the Party and demoted as officers but remained on the police force at a new station. Local residents were shocked. Xu Hong, an employee in the real estate business in Xintian County, said there is no excuse for the convicted police's exemption from imprisonment and residents are worried. "We cannot count on a criminal to protect our safety and maintain the social order," Xu said. Jiang Yongzhi, a lawyer with the Jincheng & Tongda Law Firm in Beijing, said both the verdicts are too light and unacceptable. "Instead of clearing their penalties, civil servants involved in crimes should be given heavier penalties because they violated the law knowingly," Jiang said. He also decried the fact that the two officers are still on duty, stressing that they should be sacked immediately. "It is ridiculous," he said, "to ask a thief to catch a thief." (China Daily 08/23/2005 page3)
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