In a case concerning the harming of precious or endangered wildlife, where King & Capital lawyers Ren Shiyu and Liang Zhuoqing acted as counsel, the procuratorate recently rendered a decision of nolle prosequi.  This end was to the satisfaction of the client.

While browsing on Xiaohongshu in 2020,the client took a particular liking to the seller’s trinkets,purchasing two of them after adding the seller on WeChat.The seller was subsequently apprehended,with police tracking down the client in this case.An appraisal revealed both trinkets to be made from the teeth of the sperm whale,a Class 1 national protected wild animal.The client was thereafter placed under criminal detention.Lawyers Ren Shiyu and Liang Zhuoqing made dozens of visits to the procuratorate,exchanging opinions concerning the client’s suitability for bail with the procurator in charge.Owing to the active attitude of defense counsel,the procurator in charge put in additional hours and prioritized this case.By the joint efforts of all parties,the client was able to be reunited with their family prior to National Day,after spending only 13 days in detention.

After the client was released on bail,lawyers Ren Shiyu and Liang Zhuoqing poured over the case files.They concluded that there is room for the case to go without prosecution and,having scrutinized all available evidence,drafted legal opinions and communicated with the procurator face-to-face on many occasions.Their opinion was that:the circumstances of client’s criminal actions were minor in nature,and the risk to society and harmful impact of the actions were both minimal.This conforms to the provisions in China’s Criminal Procedure Law concerning a discretionary decision not to prosecute.In the first instance,the client’s mens rea was questionable due to an insufficient grasp of the illegality of his action,an intent to knowingly infringe the law being objectively absent.This was a momentary lapse in judgment caused by a tenuous grasp of the law.In the second instance,the client was a first-time offender,purchasing products made from wild animals not for generating profit but for personal use.This occasioned relatively minor risk to society.In the last instance,the value of the goods concerned was relatively minor,and the client actively cooperated in turning them over to the police during the course of their investigations.The animal products did not recirculate in society,resulting in minor social harm.In order to actively convince the procuratorate,defense counsel perused similar decisions not to prosecute in cases of harming precious or endangered wild animals in Beijing over the past five years,compiling them into an index of similar cases.

Through their indefatigable efforts,the procuratorate accepted defense counsel’s submissions,rendering a nolle prosequi prior to the 2022 Chinese New Year.Such a decision means the client’s bright future will be unblemished by a criminal charge.The case also admonishes others to be extra vigilant when purchasing artisanal goods of unknown origin,carefully inspect the vendor’s qualifications and make an informed decision on purchase after understanding the material composition.