Beijing — As a lawyer who once defended more than 100 convicted government officials and business executives, Yang Kuangsheng knows precisely the risks they face.
One of his clients, Wen Qiang, former director of the Chongqing municipal judicial bureau, was just executed on Wednesday for corruption and shielding criminal gangs.
Yang recalled that Wen was reluctant to end his last meeting with him after Wen’s death sentence was upheld at his second trial.
“My greatest concern is my son, who has been missing since I was detained. I just hope he will grow up, get married, and have the skills to live a happy life securely and steadily,” Yang quoted Wen as having said.
Starting in 1987, Yang worked for 10 years in the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, which is responsible for granting arrest warrants and formulating the policies and guidelines used to prosecute major criminal cases.
He became a lawyer in 1998 and since 2000 has defended a total of 100 government officials and business executives charged with criminal offenses.
Yang said he has summed up the characteristics of this group of people.
He said they are social elites with strong leadership skills and proficient operators.
“It’s so obvious that money and power are intertwined with each other, and they assume risks both actively and passively,” he said.
From their psychological profiles, they understood the law but always walked on the edge of it, Yang said.
“They corrupted and took bribes only within the scope of their work functions. Some of them just didn’t think they were committing crimes and some were catalytically corroded by their spouses, lovers or family members,” he said.
According to Yang, the four key elements lawyers in criminal defense cases must handle are: the relationship with the suspects, the police, the judicial administrative apparatus and the media.
He cited Wen’s case as an example to further explain the perils and problems criminal lawyers confront in defending their clients.
On Nov 1 last year, when it snowed heavily, Wen’s sister, a 60-year-old retiree, came to Beijing to plead with Yang to represent Wen’s case.
She expressed hope that Yang could use his expertise to defend Wen, without making any unreasonable demands, Yang said.
Yang spent 10 days communicating with Wen’s relatives, acquainting himself with their ideas and requests, before he reached an agreement with them based on mutual trust.
On Dec 22 last year, when Yang first met Wen in the detention house, they did not discuss any details about the case, but used their time to establish a trusting relationship.
Wen made two requests to Yang: one was to have mutual trust and the other was to act in accordance with the law in defending his case.
“I promise every word I tell you is true. I won’t misguide you and please tell me your real opinions, although you think I should be executed, please tell me the truth,” Yang quoted Wen as having said.
“You should fully defend me in accordance with the law, if I have some legal requirements, please convey them to the judicial departments.”
During the second meeting in the detention house, Wen told him that some of the content recorded by the police in their investigation was inaccurate, Yang said.
Yang timely informed the prosecutor and the judge, and asked them to interrogate Wen and review the case in detail.
“If the lawyer is found to coach the suspect on illegal ways of avoiding being found guilty, or instructs the witnesses to give false evidence, they will be charged with the crime of perjury and would face a sentence of three to seven years,” Yang said.
During Wen’s detention period, Yang had 11 meetings with him.
“Wen’s case has great social impact, so they wouldn’t impose too many limits on the lawyer in terms of legal procedures, and it also reflects my private work style and manners,” he said.
On April 14 this year, Wen was convicted and sentenced to death by Chongqing No 5 Intermediate Court for taking bribes, shielding criminal gangs, rape and failing to account for his property and cash assets.
Wen then appealed to the local High Court and asked for a more lenient sentence. On May 21, the court upheld the previous sentence.
Yang said he was exhausted when handling Wen’s case.
“I spent 18 hours working each day, including meeting with Wen for six to eight hours each time. Under the strong pressure, I smoked 10 packs each day and used cool water to wash my head more than 10 times a night to refresh my mind, but it was worthwhile,” he said.
