Court dismisses rape excuse

A Beijing lawyer accused of raping a 19-year-old college student has claimed that he stopped when she resisted, but the woman stole his semen. His claim has been rejected by a court and Net users have mocked his excuse as absurd.

In September 2012, the victim, surnamed Xu, went to the lawyer, Zhang Yong, to ask him to represent her boyfriend. The boyfriend had been beaten, and Xu visited Zhang several times in connection with the case.

At around 2 pm on September 13, Xu went to Zhang's office to discuss the case. He asked her to pay 2,000 yuan ($328) in cash, but Xu had not brought any money with her. He hugged her when she left, and she didn't think it was anything significant, Xu was quoted as saying by the Legal Mirror.

The prosecutor said that after Xu went to his office at 5 pm with 2,000 yuan, Zhang attempted to rape her and threatened violence if she resisted, which caused a minor injury.

Zhang said she would not win if she attempted to sue him, and if she had sex with him, he would spare no effort in her boyfriend's lawsuit.

Xu called the police, and Zhang was arrested on October 24, 2012.

However, Zhang claimed that he just hugged and kissed Xu, who did not resist, and he masturbated instead, after she said she would lodge an accusation.

"Xu stole the semen from me," said Zhang.

Liang Banghui, Zhang's defense lawyer, said that rape did not occur because he ceased after Xu's warning, meaning he ceased attempting a crime.

He is using this excuse to escape liability, Wang Fu, a lawyer with the Zhenbang Law Firm, told the Global Times on Monday.

The Haidian District People's Court ruled on July 23 that Zhang was convicted of the crime of attempted rape, which means he did not cease the crime, and the claim that Xu had stolen the semen did not stand up.

Zhang is a renowned lawyer who was probably drunk when the crime occurred, and is not satisfied with the court ruling, said Zhang's wife, surnamed Ma, who did not reveal whether they will lodge an appeal.

As Net users mocked at the suspect's defense, some voiced a different concern.

"Those who deliberately break the law like the lawyer should be given a heavier sentence, as a lawyer's responsibility is to uphold justice for the victims," said a Net user in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province.

"The trial of the court is in line with the law," said Wang Fu, noting that the law does not state that a lawyer should be more severely punished if he is charged with the crime of rape unless the crime was more serious, as stipulated in the law.

According to the Criminal Law, the suspect will be given a sentence of three to 10 years. If there are serious circumstances involved in the case, the suspect can be punished with more than 10 years imprisonment, Wang added.