female anchor committing blackmail after having a relationship with the abbot attracted attention. On June 29, Nandu reporters learned from the verdict of the case that the defendant had argued that there was a controlled delivery situation and that the victim was at major fault. Previously, the Mingshan District Court of Ya'an City, Sichuan Province had made a first-instance judgment on the case. The female anchor was sentenced to 3 years in prison and 4 years of probation for extortion. Qian, the husband of a female anchor, was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in prison for extortion. The female anchor’s family told Nandu reporters that Qian had filed an appeal in court.
The abbot involved is Zhang.
The husband of a female anchor threatened to be exposed online
The criminal verdict shows that the court found out after trial that the defendant Qian and the defendant Cai were husband and wife, and they jointly operated a mahogany furniture sales business. At the end of 2020, the victim Zhang met and kept in contact with Cai while purchasing mahogany furniture. In February 2021, Cai and Zhang had sex in a hotel in Chengdu, and were later discovered by Qian, who then had the idea of collecting evidence. After persuading Cai to agree, Cai invited Zhang to Xianyou County, Fujian Province and stay at a hotel on April 23 of the same year. Qian secretly filmed an indecent video of the two having sex through the secret camera equipment installed in advance.
On the evening of July 10 of the same year, Qian, Cai and Zhang met in a hotel in Chengdu. Qian revealed his identity as Cai’s husband and questioned Zhang, and showed intimate pictures of Zhang and Cai. Zhang finally Admitted to having sexual relations with Cai. After negotiation between the two parties, Zhang paid 2 million yuan to Cai (including 1 million yuan for Zhang's purchase of furniture) to settle the matter.
In early February 2023, Qian went to Mingshan and unsuccessfully requested to meet with Zhang on the pretext of finding Zhang to resolve the discord between his husband and wife. Then on the 12th of the same month, he sent a video screenshot with a picture of Zhang’s bust and text to Zhang’s friend. , threatening Zhang to meet with him because of the increasing amount of online attention. Zhang then arranged for two friends to negotiate with Qian. During many negotiations, Qian threatened to be exposed online, and Zhang was forced to agree to pay Qian 3.3 million yuan in installments, but proposed that Qian contact Cai to Mingshan to sign a written "letter of understanding" to completely resolve the matter. thing.
After Qian informed Cai, Cai arrived in Mingshan on the 23rd of the same month. The next day, Qian, Cai, Zhang and two friends of Zhang met at a teahouse in Mingshan. At Zhang's request, Qian agreed to reduce the amount by 100,000 yuan. The two parties agreed that Zhang would pay Qian 1.2 million yuan on the same day, and 1 million yuan each on February 24, 2024, and February 24, 2025. Qian would delete and destroy all the videos in person after Zhang paid the last payment. , photo materials, and the contents of the "letter of understanding" such as Qian's non-disclosure of relevant information.
After that, Cai wrote a "letter of understanding" according to the agreed content, and Zhang paid Qian 500,000 yuan through bank transfer and 699,000 yuan in cash. After Zhang paid the money, he called 110 to call the police. Qian and Cai were caught by the police when they were preparing to drive away after counting their cash. After a search, 699,000 yuan in cash was seized from the off-road vehicle driven by Qian, and the money was returned to Zhang. After the incident, the public security organs seized Qian and Cai's mobile phones and an off-road vehicle in accordance with the law, and froze Qian's bank account funds of more than 500,000 yuan and Cai's bank account funds of more than 410,000 yuan.
After Cai arrived at the case, he truthfully confessed his main criminal facts and voluntarily confessed and accepted punishment during the trial. The victim Zhang issued a letter of understanding to express his understanding of Cai's behavior. It was also found that Zhang’s friend had four phone calls with the police on the evening of February 23 and the morning of February 24, 2023, as well as after the victim Zhang called the police.
The court held that the defendants Qian and Cai used coercive means to extort other people's property for the purpose of illegal possession, and the amount was extremely huge. Their actions constituted the crime of extortion and were a joint crime. The prosecution found the charges and the court supported them. In the joint crime, Qian played a major role and was the principal culprit; Cai played a minor role and was an accessory, and should be given a lighter punishment.
Based on the existing evidence, this court determined that the amount of 3.2 million yuan charged was an attempted crime, and the two defendants were given a lighter punishment than a completed crime. After Cai arrived at the case, he truthfully confessed the facts of his crime, confessed, voluntarily confessed and accepted punishment, and obtained the victim's understanding, so he could be given a lighter punishment.There is a cause in this case, and the victim has a certain responsibility for the occurrence of this case. This can be taken into consideration when sentencing the two defendants. Taking into account the nature of Cai’s crime, the degree of social harm and the circumstances of lenient and mitigating punishment, Cai may be given a suspended sentence.
The defendant argued that the victim had a major fault.
According to the criminal verdict, the defendant Qian argued that he had no illegal possession purpose and did not ask for money from the other party. It was the money that the other party actively paid to avoid being exposed, which is not a crime.
Qian’s defender pointed out that Qian had no subjective intention to extort and did not threaten the victim. He posted the video to ask Zhang to come forward to resolve the discord between his husband and wife. The financial compensation was proposed by Zhang on his own initiative and an understanding was formed after negotiation. The letter does not constitute the crime of extortion; even if Qian is found to have asked for property, it is not for the purpose of illegal possession and should not be considered a crime; there is a controlled delivery situation in this case, even if the defendant's behavior is found to constitute a crime, it is still a crime If the attempt fails, the victim has serious fault.
The defendant Cai had no objection to the main criminal facts and charges charged in the prosecution, but argued that he was passively involved and was willing to accept punishment and pay fines, hoping for leniency.
Cai’s defender proposed that Cai intervened passively and was a coercive accomplice who confessed, confessed and accepted punishment; the victim made a major fault; there was a controlled delivery situation in this case, and no loss was actually caused to the victim, so it was an attempted crime.
Another defender of Cai pointed out that the victim had a major fault in this case, and Qian obtained relief based on legitimate moral rights, which should not be considered a crime. Cai did not conspire with Qian and implement extortion, which does not constitute a crime; this case exists Controlled delivery situation.
The court stated that regarding the defense opinion put forward by the defenders of Qian and the two defendants that "it does not constitute a crime of extortion", after investigation, it was found that Qian secretly filmed indecent videos, which was enough to pose a threat to Zhang. In July 2021, when the two parties had settled the improper relationship between Zhang and Cai, Qian threatened Zhang to meet with him after a year and a half, and Zhang was forced to negotiate with him. During the negotiation, Qian was always in a dominant position and repeatedly threatened to expose indecent videos, so Zhang was forced to agree to pay 3.2 million yuan in installments. Cai cooperated with Qian to secretly shoot an indecent video. Even though he knew that Qian threatened Zhang with the video and demanded property, he still went to help complete the signing of the "Letter of Understanding" and the delivery of money.
Qian and Cai subjectively had the purpose of illegally possessing other people's property, and objectively carried out the act of threatening others and demanding property. The actions of the two defendants should be investigated for criminal responsibility as extortion. Therefore, the court did not accept the defense opinion. Regarding the defense opinion raised by Cai's defender that "Cai is an accessory under threat", after investigation, it was found that Cai went there on his own initiative after being notified by Qian and provided assistance to Qian in committing the crime. He was not coerced and was not an accessory under threat. Therefore, the court did not accept this defense opinion.
In the end, the defendant Qian was convicted of extortion and sentenced to five years and six months in prison and fined RMB 100,000; the defendant Cai was convicted of extortion and sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for four years, and fined RMB 50,000. The family members of the
anchor told Nandu reporters that Qian had filed an appeal in court.
Written by: Nandu reporter Zhou Minxuan
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