Recently, the case of Song Mou suspected of helping information network criminal activities (hereinafter referred to as the “crime of helping the letter”), which was undertaken by the firm's lawyers Zhao Qilong and Wu Weichao, was finally successfully concluded with the Procuratorate's withdrawal of the prosecution. Song was finally acquitted of the crime, and his legal rights and interests were safeguarded in accordance with the law. Justice was slightly delayed, but ultimately upheld.
In this case, Song for lending bank cards to others by the public security organs suspected of helping letter crime investigation and prosecution, sentenced to six months imprisonment, suspended for one year. In the face of the adverse trial results of the first trial, as well as the complexity of the case and the strict judicial determination of standards, the two defense lawyers in the second trial less than 7 days before the court accepted the commission, in-depth study of the crime of helping the letter of the composition of the elements and the latest judicial policy, focusing on the “subjective knowledge” and "seriousness of the circumstances The two core controversial focuses of “subjective knowledge” and “aggravating circumstances”, to launch a systematic and professional not guilty defense.
I. Precise analysis of “subjective knowledge”.
Breaking the logic of presumption of guilt
The defense pointed out that the crime of helping the letter must have the subjective intention of “knowing that others use the information network to commit crimes”. Song mou although aware of lending bank card is a violation, but does not know others use the card to implement the information network criminal activities, this knowledge only belongs to the level of administrative violations, can not be directly equated with the criminal intent. Citing Article 11 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Helping Criminal Activities in Information Networks, the Minutes of the Card Breaking Conference in 2022, and the latest opinion of the “Two High Committees and One Department” in July 2025, the contracting lawyers emphasized that for the ‘knowledge’, “knowing” is not the same as the criminal intent. The determination of “knowledge” should strictly follow the rules of evidence, avoiding simple objective imputation, and cannot be presumed to be “knowledge” by the mere act of lending. Song Mou only for the first time, a single loan, did not receive any benefits, and did not carry out the transfer, brush face and other cooperative behavior, according to the law does not meet the presumption of “knowledge” conditions.
Second, in-depth argumentation of the “aggravating circumstances”, and
Negative of the objective elements of the crime
The defense further pointed out that even if there are helping behaviors, they need to reach the “aggravating circumstances” in order to constitute a crime. According to the judicial interpretation and the relevant minutes, simply provide bank cards are not used for payment and settlement, it is not appropriate to directly recognized as “payment and settlement” help. Song only lent a set of accounts, although the amount of water amounted to 300,000 yuan, but does not meet the “three or more accounts and the inflow of funds more than 300,000 yuan” of “other serious circumstances” identification criteria. Combined with the restrictive interpretation of “payment and settlement” in 2022, the lawyer argued that his behavior did not meet the threshold of criminalization.
Third, the implementation of criminal policy, highlighting the judicial temperature
The defense emphasized that Song Mou is a first-time offender, an occasional offender, has no previous convictions, this behavior is due to the weak legal awareness of others deceived, and did not get any economic benefits. After the incident, he actively compensated the victim, and his attitude was sincere. According to the criminal justice policy of leniency and severity, for this kind of minor circumstances, the subjective malignancy of the perpetrators should be educated to save the main, prudent application of penalties.
The court of second instance finally adopted the defense opinion, the case was sent back to the court of first instance for retrial, during the retrial, the prosecutor's office, after a comprehensive review, decided to withdraw the prosecution on the grounds of changes in the law and judicial interpretations. Song was able to regain his freedom and avoid the long-term negative impact of his criminal record on his life and family.
Conclusion
The successful withdrawal of this case not only reflects the defense attorney's profound grasp of the spirit of the legislation and judicial practice of the crime of helping others, but also demonstrates his professional skills in evidence analysis, legal application and policy implementation. King&Capital Law Firm always adheres to the practice philosophy of “pursuing excellence and fulfilling the trust”, and is committed to realizing fairness and justice in every case, and providing clients with professional, warm and powerful legal services.
