Chapter 542 Super Lawyer Zhang 3
Hou Liangping was full of confidence. He firmly believed that the evidence he had was enough to make Qi Tongwei receive the punishment he deserved. He was also determined to take this opportunity to eradicate the corrupt forces of the Zhao family.
The atmosphere in the courtroom was extremely tense. Hou Liangping presented detailed evidence, strongly accusing Qi Tongwei of crimes. The lawyers arranged by the Zhao family tried to defend Qi Tongwei with all kinds of far-fetched reasons. The two sides exchanged fierce arguments.
In order to turn the tide in this life-and-death contest, the Zhao family father and son spared no expense to hire Zhang San, a well-known top lawyer in the legal community. Zhang San is a legendary figure in the legal community. He is well-known for his eloquence and ability to exploit legal loopholes. Of course, this style of doing things also makes many colleagues who uphold justice look at him with contempt.
The moment Zhang San stepped into the courtroom, he exuded a powerful aura, as if he was the master of the law, not just someone who followed the law. He was wearing a neatly tailored suit, his hair was neatly combed, and his eyes were filled with a mixture of cunning and confidence.
When the trial began, Zhang San stood up calmly and began his eloquent argument. His voice was steady and powerful, echoing in the courtroom, and every word seemed to be carefully crafted.
"Dear judge, regarding Mr. Qi Tongwei's case, we believe that there are many doubts and possible misjudgments. First of all, regarding the so-called accusations of embezzlement and bribery, we have evidence showing that in some financial transactions, Mr. Qi Tongwei made some special fund allocations based on considerations of local economic development. These allocations were reasonable under the policy environment and local development needs at the time, and were not purely personal embezzlement." Zhang San said as he methodically displayed some seemingly relevant documents and materials. After his clever arrangement and interpretation, these materials had a magical power to reverse black and white, making the originally clear acts of embezzlement unclear, as if Qi Tongwei was a meritorious official who devoted his life to the local area and was just misunderstood and slandered.
"Furthermore, regarding the charge of abuse of power, our investigation found that in the process of promoting relevant projects, Mr. Qi Tongwei took some actions accused of abuse of power under some vague instructions and urgent task requirements from his superiors. But in fact, he made a stopgap measure under limited time and complex situations. His purpose was to avoid greater losses and chaos, not for personal gain." Zhang San's argument was like a carefully painted scroll, packaging Qi Tongwei's various crimes with a seemingly reasonable logic, just like putting a gorgeous coat on a poisonous snake, trying to make it look harmless.
He moved freely in the court, using his rich legal knowledge and debate skills to sharply refute every piece of evidence presented by Hou Liangping. He quoted from various obscure legal provisions and different verdicts of similar cases in the past, and expounded his views in an endless stream, trying to make the judge and jury doubt Qi Tongwei's guilt.
However, Hou Liangping is no ordinary person. He calmly responded to Zhang San's sophistry and dismantled his seemingly perfect arguments one by one. Hou Liangping stood up and looked at Zhang San firmly, "Lawyer Zhang, your so-called reasonable allocation of funds is nothing more than a beautification of illegal gains. Those so-called instructions from superiors and urgent tasks are not supported by any official documents or legal procedures at all. They are completely Qi Tongwei's personal willful behavior. We have a large number of witness testimonies and actual investigation results to prove that Qi Tongwei's behavior is naked embezzlement, bribery and abuse of power. It is by no means a helpless act or a well-intentioned misunderstanding as you said."
Zhang San was not panicked at all. He raised his lips slightly and continued, "Prosecutor Hou, witness testimony is subjective and misleading. How can you ensure that these witnesses did not make false statements under certain pressure or temptations? And whether your so-called investigation results followed strict legal procedures and the integrity of the chain of evidence during the investigation is also worth discussing."
The two sides exchanged arguments fiercely. The atmosphere in the courtroom was so tense that it was suffocating. The audience held their breath and watched this peak showdown between law and justice, truth and lies. The judge also listened carefully to the arguments of both sides and carefully examined each piece of evidence, trying to make a fair judgment in this complicated situation.
As the debate progressed, Zhang San showed his strengths more and more. He began to use some minor legal loopholes to try to shake the foundation of Hou Liangping's evidence. He raised some questions about the time of evidence collection and the qualification of witnesses. Although these questions seemed far-fetched to Hou Liangping, he had to spend time and energy to explain and refute them.
"Lawyer Zhang, our evidence collection is carried out strictly in accordance with legal procedures, and witnesses have also been strictly screened and verified. There is no problem like you mentioned. Your groundless questioning is just delaying time and trying to confuse the public." There was a hint of anger in Hou Liangping's voice. He knew Zhang San's purpose very well, but he could not let him succeed.
Zhang San did not back down in the face of Hou Liangping's rebuttal, but continued his aggressive debate strategy. He knew the importance of the outcome of this lawsuit to his reputation and the interest groups behind him, so he spared no effort to turn the tide.
"Prosecutor Hou, you claimed that the evidence collection strictly followed procedures, but we found that the collection time of some key evidence was inconsistent with the logical sequence of events. For example, the important document about Mr. Qi Tongwei's financial transactions with a certain company, the collection time marked was earlier than the start time of the company's internal approval process. Is this just a coincidence? This makes people doubt the authenticity and reliability of this evidence." Zhang San spoke sharply, staring at Hou Liangping, trying to find a flaw in his expression.
Hou Liangping frowned and responded calmly: "Lawyer Zhang, we have already made a detailed investigation on the time stamping of this evidence. It was due to the chaotic internal management of the enterprise that the document circulation was delayed and incorrectly marked. However, the relevant bank flow records, witness testimony and subsequent investigation and verification can fully prove the authenticity of this evidence. It is definitely not a forgery as you imagined."
Zhang San sneered, "Prosecutor Hou, bank statements are not foolproof. There are endless financial fraud methods nowadays, and it is not difficult to forge bank statements.