SPC orders retrial in forced prostitute case

Mom petitioned for death penalty

China's top court on Thursday quashed the death sentences of two criminals convicted of raping and forcing the 10-year-old daughter of a high-profile petitioner into prostitution.

Zhou Junhui and Qin Xing, who were both found guilty of forcing several women into prostitution, will have their cases retried at the Hunan provincial high court, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) announced.

The SPC court judgment did not use the word "rape," although the defendants were convicted of this crime in the lower court case. Instead, the SPC said that the male defendant, Zhou, had "sexual relations" with the victim.

The case drew considerable attention as the victim's mother, Tang Hui, was sent to a re-education through labor center, or laojiao center, in 2012 for petitioning to give the death penalty to seven offenders, including Zhou and Qin.

The provincial high court in June 2012 sentenced Zhou and Qin to death, four others to life imprisonment and another defendant to 15 years in prison.

The SPC stated on its Sina Weibo account that anyone guilty of forcing others into prostitution can be sentenced to death if the crime has caused severe damage to the victims, such as death or disability, or the victims were illegally detained.

Zhou and Qin forced Tang's daughter, who was 10 years old at the time, into prostitution after Zhou raped her in Yongzhou, Hunan Province, in 2006 for three months. The victim also contracted a venereal disease.

The SPC stated that Tang's daughter was not forcibly held at all times in the three-month period and not forced by violence, so the damage in this case is not severe enough for a capital penalty.

Meanwhile, the SPC pointed out that there is evidence of mitigating circumstances since Qin was jailed, after she saved a cellmate who tried to commit suicide.

Gan Yuanchun, a lawyer who represented Tang and her daughter in the case, said that he respected the SPC verdict, which is "as expected."

"China's judicial system has tried to reduce the number of death penalties so they handled the review meticulously," Gan said, adding that the retrial of the case would mainly focus on the evidence of Qin's mitigating circumstances.

He noted that the Thursday verdict should not be affected or linked with the victory of Tang's case against laojiao.

In July 2013, a high court in Hunan ruled in Tang's favor when she sued the local laojiao commission for infringing her freedom and causing psychological damage. After the case, Tang said that if the SPC rejected the death sentences, she would keep petitioning.

The Global Times was unable to reach Tang as of press time. Si Weijiang, a lawyer who represented her in the laojiao case, told the Global Times that her mood was downbeat.

"I've suggested that she find a lawyer to represent her in the new trial," Si said, adding that he also tried to persuade her to trust the law rather than to further petition on the case.