Lungan Case Outcome | After 1,915 days of legal efforts, lawyers Lorge and Gao Guoji from Lungan in Guangzhou provided precise legal representation, resulting in a change from the death penalty to life imprisonment.

Recently, in the case of Chen Moumou transporting drugs, handled by senior partners Lawyer Luo Jie and Lawyer Gao Guojie from Beijing Longan (Guangzhou) Law Firm, after the Supreme People’s Court accepted the defense arguments during the death penalty review stage and decided not to approve the death penalty, and sent the case back for a retrial, the Guangdong Provincial High People’s Court conducted a new trial and issued a final judgment, changing the sentence of Chen Moumou to death penalty with a two-year suspension. This case, which lasted 1,915 days and was a “deathly situation” where there was no hope of survival, finally reached a resolution based on the appropriate punishment according to the law. Lawyer Luo Jie and Lawyer Gao Guojie achieved good results in the criminal defense work in this case!

1,915 Days of a “Deathly Situation” Overcoming

The original first-instance court determined that Chen Moumou was the only principal offender and the primary responsible person in the case of trafficking and transporting drugs. He organized and instructed others to participate in drug transportation, and was caught on the spot during the transfer. Approximately 25 kilograms of methamphetamine were involved, and he had no mitigating or reducing circumstances. The first-instance judgment sentenced Chen Moumou to death. Chen Moumou appealed, and the second-instance judgment upheld the original decision, and the case was submitted to the Supreme Court for approval of the death penalty.

After the second-instance judgment, Chen Moumou’s family entrusted Lawyer Luo as the defense lawyer during the death penalty review stage. After preliminary assessment, it was found that the situation was not optimistic. It was a drug-related case where death was inevitable. He was the only principal offender, both the perpetrator and the victim, identified by co-defendants, and the amount of drugs involved was large, meeting the conditions for a death sentence.

During the meeting with Chen Moumou, Lawyer Luo patiently persuaded him to truthfully report the facts of the case. Then, a chance for a reversal was found in Chen Moumou’s statement, and relevant evidence was collected to form a defense argument. After traveling to Beijing for three days, during the meeting with the judge of the Supreme Court, initially, the judge seemed inclined to approve the death penalty. After more than an hour of detailed explanation of the facts and evidence, a different set of facts was presented, which received the judge’s full attention, and it was stated that the defense arguments and evidence would be carefully reviewed.

Lawyer Luo Jie travels to Beijing

Finally, the Supreme Court issued a “Criminal Order”, “The court believes that some facts and evidence identified in the first and second-instance judgments are unclear. Regarding the opinions raised by the defense lawyer regarding unclear facts in this case, the court accepts them.” The death penalty was not approved, and the case was sent back to the Guangdong Provincial High People’s Court for a retrial.

“Criminal Order” by the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China

The Case Gets a Turn

After the case was sent back for a retrial, Chen Moumou entrusted Lawyer Luo and Lawyer Gao as the defense lawyers in the second instance. The lawyers immediately requested investigations and evidence collection regarding relevant facts and defense arguments. After reviewing and verifying the supplementary evidence, the Guangdong Provincial High People’s Court issued a “Criminal Judgment”, changing the sentence to death penalty with a two-year suspension, on the grounds that Chen Moumou’s “crime and responsibility were not the most severe” in the joint crime. This judgment recognized Chen Moumou as the only principal offender and also considered his “crime and responsibility were not the most severe” in the joint crime, accepting and adopting the facts derived from the defense arguments.

“Criminal Judgment” by the Guangdong Provincial High People’s Court

Case Summary

Case process overview

In this case, the successful change of the “deathly situation” reflects both the state’s “zero tolerance” attitude towards various drug crimes and the “cautious execution” attitude towards the application of death penalty. The lawyers raised questions, and the judges carefully and responsibly investigated the facts, leading to the change of the sentence. Chen Moumou, who participated in drug crimes due to temporary greed, was initially sentenced to death, but after 9 years in custody, his sentence was changed to death penalty with a two-year suspension. Life is precious, and freedom is invaluable; it is not worth regretting for a momentary greed.

Lawyer Profile

Lawyer Gao Guojie

Lawyer Gao Guojie is the director of the Longan Bay Criminal Prevention and Control Research Center, a senior partner in Longan Guangzhou, and the founder of Qiming Criminal Defense Team. He has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in law from Sun Yat-sen University, and is a member of the Communist Party. With 19 years of legal experience, he once worked as a prosecutor in a first-tier city procuratorate. The team has rich judicial experience in criminal defense, criminal complaints and representation, and criminal risk prevention. The team has handled over 700 criminal cases, including a series of important cases such as the case of Lin Moumou, former deputy head of the Guangdong Provincial Organization Department, who accepted bribes. They have received many business achievement awards.

Lawyer Luo Jie

Lawyer Luo Jie is the deputy director and secretary-general of the Longan Bay Criminal Prevention and Control Research Center, a senior partner in Longan Guangzhou. He has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in law from Southwest University of Political Science and Law, and is a member of the Communist Party. With 10 years of legal experience, he serves as the deputy secretary-general and member of the professional committee for professional crimes of the Guangdong Province and Guangzhou Lawyers Association. He specializes in criminal business and co-founded Qiming Criminal Defense Team with like-minded criminal defense lawyers. The team has rich judicial experience in criminal defense, criminal complaints and representation, and criminal risk prevention. The team has handled over 700 cases and has received many business achievement awards.