Wang’s bribery case

[Keywords] Criminal Law / Bribery Crime / Particularly Large Amount / Liaoning Provincial Supervisory Commission / Self-Surrender / Leniency in Punishment

【Key Points of the Ruling】 After surrendering to the authorities, the defendant not only truthfully confessed to the criminal facts already known by the investigating authorities but also voluntarily disclosed other criminal facts that the authorities had not yet uncovered. Such conduct constitutes self-surrender and, in accordance with the law, entitles the defendant to a lighter punishment. Furthermore, given that the defendant recognized the illegality of his actions, has consistently pleaded guilty and expressed remorse since surrendering, proactively returned the entire amount of illicit proceeds involved in the case, and actively paid the fine, these factors may be considered for a more lenient sentence.

[Basic Facts of the Case] On July 13, 2018, the defendant Wang was placed under detention by decision of the Liaoning Provincial Supervisory Commission. On October 12, 2018, he was lawfully arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes. The People's Procuratorate of Dadong District, Shenyang City, charged that, while serving as president and Party secretary of a certain university, the defendant Wang took advantage of his official position to seek benefits for individuals such as Fang and Chen in areas including securing construction projects, settling project payments, obtaining institutional establishment status, and facilitating job transfers. Over multiple occasions, he illegally accepted or demanded property from these individuals, totaling RMB 4,435,621—a sum of particularly enormous magnitude.

[Judgment] 1. The defendant Wang was convicted of bribery and sentenced to four years and six months of imprisonment, together with a fine of 800,000 yuan (already paid).

2. The illicit funds amounting to RMB 4,435,621 have been seized in accordance with the law and will be confiscated and turned over to the state treasury.

【Reasons for the Ruling】 The defendant, Wang, as a state functionary, took advantage of his official position to seek benefits for others and accepted or demanded property totaling RMB 4,435,621 from others. The amount involved is exceptionally large, and his conduct thus constitutes the crime of bribery. Moreover, given that he solicited bribes, he should be punished more severely. After being notified and accompanied by members of the disciplinary inspection team, Wang not only truthfully confessed to some of the criminal facts already known to the investigating authorities but also voluntarily disclosed other criminal facts that the authorities had not yet uncovered. Therefore, he qualifies as turning himself in and may, in accordance with the law, receive a lighter punishment. Furthermore, Wang demonstrated awareness of the illegality of his actions; since his surrender, he has consistently pleaded guilty and expressed remorse, proactively returned the entire sum of illicit gains involved in the case, and actively paid the fine imposed on him—all of which warrant a discretionary reduction in his sentence.

[Relevant Statute] Article 385 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China [Crime of Accepting Bribes]: A state functionary who, taking advantage of his/her position, solicits property from others or illegally accepts property from others in order to procure benefits for those others commits the crime of accepting bribes.

State functionaries who, in economic transactions, violate state regulations by accepting rebates or handling fees under various pretexts for their personal gain shall be treated as having accepted bribes.

Article 67 [Self-Surrender] A person who voluntarily turns himself in to the authorities after committing a crime and truthfully confesses his or her criminal acts shall be considered to have surrendered himself or herself. For criminals who surrender themselves, the punishment may be mitigated or reduced. Among them, those who committed relatively minor crimes may be exempted from punishment.

A criminal suspect, defendant, or offender currently serving a sentence who truthfully confesses to other crimes that the judicial authorities have not yet discovered shall be treated as having turned themselves in.

Although the suspect does not meet the conditions for self-surrender as stipulated in the preceding two paragraphs, if he or she truthfully confesses his or her crimes, he or she may be given a lighter punishment. If, due to the suspect’s truthful confession of his or her crimes, particularly serious consequences are avoided, the punishment may be further reduced.

Article 3 of the Interpretation by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Embezzlement and Bribery: Where the amount involved in embezzlement or bribery exceeds three million yuan, it shall be deemed as “an especially large amount” as stipulated in Paragraph 1 of Article 383 of the Criminal Law, and the offender shall be sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of no less than ten years, life imprisonment, or death penalty, together with a fine or confiscation of property, in accordance with the law.

If the amount of embezzlement exceeds 1.5 million yuan but is less than 3 million yuan, and one of the circumstances specified in Paragraph 2 of Article 1 of this Interpretation is present, it shall be deemed to constitute “other particularly serious circumstances” as stipulated in Paragraph 1 of Article 383 of the Criminal Law, and the offender shall be sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of 10 years or more, life imprisonment, or death penalty, together with a fine or confiscation of property, in accordance with the law.

If the amount of bribery received is more than 1.5 million yuan but less than 3 million yuan, and one of the circumstances specified in Paragraph 3 of Article 1 of this Interpretation is present, it shall be deemed as “other particularly serious circumstances” as stipulated in Paragraph 1 of Article 383 of the Criminal Law, and the offender shall be sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of 10 years or more, life imprisonment, or death penalty, together with a fine or confiscation of property, in accordance with the law.

Article 19: For those convicted of embezzlement or bribery and sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of less than three years or detention, a fine of between 100,000 yuan and 500,000 yuan shall also be imposed. For those sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of more than three years but less than ten years, a fine of between 200,000 yuan and twice the amount of the crime shall be imposed, or their property may be confiscated. For those sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of ten years or more, or life imprisonment, a fine of between 500,000 yuan and twice the amount of the crime shall be imposed, or their property may be confiscated.

For other corruption and bribery offenses for which the Criminal Law prescribes and imposes fines, the fine shall be imposed at an amount between ten times the criminal amount and twice that amount.

[Lawyer’s Opinion] First, Wang possesses statutory mitigating and leniency factors, including voluntary surrender, voluntary admission of guilt, voluntary restitution of illicit gains, and voluntary payment of fines.

First, the facts that Wang voluntarily confessed—namely, accepting property from teachers and relatives of teachers at this university, as well as from engineering contractors and Party member Fang—are all facts that had not yet been uncovered by the Liaoning Provincial Commission for Supervision, thus meeting the legal requirements for self-surrender. Second, after being placed under detention measures, Wang proactively confessed to all the facts charged in the indictment, complying with the legal provisions regarding voluntary and spontaneous confessions. Third, since his surrender, Wang has consistently demonstrated a sincere attitude of guilt and provided stable and consistent statements; his accounts corroborate those given by the bribe-givers, fully satisfying the legal requirement of truthful confession. Fourth, Wang has already instructed his family to return all illicit gains, and both during the period of detention and at the trial, he repeatedly expressed his willingness to voluntarily pay fines and accept punishment, demonstrating genuine remorse. Given that Wang’s confession was made early, was thorough, characterized by a positive attitude, and reflected genuine remorse, coupled with his self-surrender, his remorseful conduct, and relevant precedents for similar offenses, we believe that his sentence should be mitigated or reduced.

II. The defense counsel recommends that Wang be sentenced to no more than ten years of fixed-term imprisonment.

The defense counsel reviewed relevant case precedents and argued that Wang had statutory and discretionary mitigating factors, including voluntary surrender, full confession, truthful testimony, and voluntary admission of guilt. Therefore, the counsel recommended that Wang be sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of less than ten years.

The highlight of this case is that from the time Wang was placed under detention by the Liaoning Provincial Supervisory Commission until the verdict was handed down, only eight months had elapsed. The court fully adopted all the defense counsel’s arguments and recognized all of Wang’s statutory and discretionary mitigating circumstances for sentencing, thereby fully embodying the principles of proportionality between crime and punishment as well as the simultaneous emphasis on both punishment and education. Moreover, Wang’s admission of guilt and acceptance of the sentence have ensured that this case has achieved a harmonious integration of social and legal effects.