GUIYANG, April 22 (Xinhua) -- A prosecutor's office in southwest China said
Wednesday it suspended charges against seven people who had already been tried
for statutory rape after new facts and evidence were uncovered.
Prosecutors in Xishui County, Guizhou Province, said new investigations
would be conducted and the case was suspended Tuesday. They did not describe the
new evidence, nor did they say whether the case would be retried in the county
or taken to a higher court.
Seven people stood a closed-door trial at the county court on statutory
rape charges on April 8. The hearing ended on April 9 but the verdict has not
been handed down, according to the People's Court of Xishui County.
Among the accused are Yuan Ronghui, who allegedly abetted 11 schoolgirls to
prostitution from October 2007 to July 2008; official Li Shouming in charge of
the county migration office; land and resources official Chen Mengran; social
security official Huang Yongliang; legal affairs official Chen Cun; vocational
school teacher Feng Zhiyang; and taxi driver Feng Yong.
Under China's criminal law, the jail term for rapists is three to 10 years.
But child rapists, including those convicted of statutory rape, can be sentenced
to life terms or even the death penalty, if they knew the victim was under
14.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment