Interview Notes｜How to report the 17-day interrogation faced by two teenagers in the case of Sheung Shui cleaning worker suspected of being killed by bricks?

When I grew up watching Weng Jingjing's "Dangerous People" and Yun Hai's "The Haunted Case", when I heard about murder and manslaughter, the key words such as "Hello Kitty's Hidden Corpse Case", "Human Char Siu Bao at the Eight Immortals Hotel", and "The Twenty-Eight Kings" would come to mind. words and plot. After I became a court reporter, I heard from experts from time to time that there were surprises in the murder trial, so I secretly held a "curious" mentality and "expected" to follow up the murder trial. What will be different from other cases. As a result, the first follow-up murder case did not have the above-mentioned horror or chill. More than expected, at least one-third of the onlookers stood up and waved to the defendant's column every time they left the courtroom. When the jury found not guilty of manslaughter, the family members bowed to the lawyer with tears, and people outside the courtroom patted each other on the shoulders. This case is the "Shangshui Brick Manslaughter Case" which was officially concluded last Friday (12th).

The incident happened on November 13, 2019. On that day, some people launched "Operation Morning Sunshine". Demonstrators set up roadblocks such as bricks to launch the "Three Strikes" outside the Town Hall of Sheung Shui North District. Disputes and exchange of bricks. The 70-year-old cleaner Luo Changqing, who was originally cleaning bricks, was knocked unconscious by a hard object. He was sent to the hospital and died the next day. Another man was also injured in the attack.

Two teenagers, Liu Zilong and Chen Yanting, who were only 15 and 16 years old at the time of the incident, were arrested in December of the same year. In April 2020, they were charged with murdering Luo Changqing, assaulting the injured X, and participating in a riot. A total of 3 charges made this case an anti-revisionist case. The movement was the first in which protesters were charged with murder, and the first in rioting with a jury.

Two defendants remanded for moderate 18th birthday

Two "post-00" defendants have been remanded in custody since April 2020, when they were 16 and 17 years old; before the trial, they had spent two summers and winters in the correctional institution, and their 18th birthday was also spent within the fence .

During the 17-day interrogation, I paid special attention to the expressions of the two men. They have spent ten times of their lives in the correctional institution and faced the murder of one life. Whether they can be free for the rest of their lives may be in just 17 days. finalized. How do they face it?

The first time I saw the two in the defendant's column was in the 7th court of the High Court on June 15. A jury of 5 women and 2 men was drawn on the same day, and the case was officially tried. The two wore black suits lined with white shirts, and their hair was neatly combed. Under the guidance of correctional officers, they entered the court with spirit and sat down on the defendant's column near the jury.

Sit upright and show less emotion during interrogation

It is known from the court information that the two are primary school classmates and occasionally go to each other's home to play. In the videotaped meeting, Chen Yanting mentioned that he and Liu Zilong were present at the crime scene, but since the clip would not be used to testify against Liu, the relevant paragraph was deleted before it was broadcast to the jury. Although the two rarely communicated in court, the defense lawyer said they were still old friends.

During the interrogation, the two rarely showed their emotions, just like Pinghu. The older defendant, Liu Zilong, sat up straight all the time, like a student sitting in the front row of a classroom and listening obediently. The younger second defendant, Chen Yanting, would lean forward and stare at the screen during the broadcast, clasping his hands together, looking nervous. He also glanced at the gallery from time to time, as if looking for relatives and friends; when leaving the court, he would occasionally pat his chin with the palm of his hand and move his shoulders to loosen his muscles and bones.

Every time they left the court, at least one-third of the onlookers in the row stood up and waved to the two of them. Some would shout "Hold on!", but the two just looked at the auditorium and did not act like the defendants in other cases. Gestures or nods in response.

On the 7th day of the trial, when the prosecution case was over, the judge Du Libing announced that due to insufficient evidence, the order was changed from murder to manslaughter.

Mother Chen left the witness room to cry after giving evidence

Liu Zilong did not call any witnesses. Chen Yanting had his brother and mother to testify in court. At the time, I assumed in my mind that Chen would probably be affected when his relatives spoke excitedly, and if there were tears, body language or movements, he would need to be included in the report.

But neither happened.

I especially remember that on the 8th day of the trial, Chen's mother appeared in court to testify. She is a single mother, raising her two children by working as a cleaner. Every time Chen's mother mentioned that the police officers had not allowed her son to take medicine, and she had symptoms such as tremors in his hands, feet tremors, and panic in his eyes, she choked up and shook her air, and took out a tissue several times to wipe her tears.

When the prosecution kept raising questions, Chen's mother became emotional several times, and once said hoarsely, "I'm not a woman with a high degree of education, I'm a clean auntie who is very subtle and subtle, and I don't even know how to explain it. It will become like this today."

While copying Chen's mother's accusation, he looked at Chen Yanting, but saw no change in his demeanor. After giving the testimony, Chen's mother left the court in a stride, and her son did not look at each other. At that time, I thought, why didn't she take a look in the court because she was so attached to her son? Going out of court with doubts, she saw Chen's mother sitting alone in the witness room next to court 7, wiping her face with a tissue and sobbing.

When Chen's mother fell asleep, her son went out

Her just-in-time confession flashed through her mind.

Chen's mother said that on the day of Chen Yanting's arrest, she was out with a friend when she suddenly received a call from the police, saying that her son was involved in a case of wounding, "call me to return to the house as soon as possible."

She rushed home by taxi, and the police officer outside the door said, "It's a small matter, don't worry about it." As soon as the door opened, he saw two sons and police officers sitting on the sofa, while Chen Yanting's eyes were panic.

The mother Chen in the court looked like an ordinary housewife, with a slightly fat body, wearing loose clothes and a loose bun. At first glance, she looked like the kind of teacher who was holding a bag of vegetables, meat and fish in the market. When she speaks loudly, with a slight Mandarin accent, she feels like she is a very ordinary aunt. But in the marketplace, I see humility again, always calling the police "Mr. Police"; after getting emotional, I will often apologize again, "Don't say it out loud."

During the cross-examination, the master Zhou Kailing said as soon as he came, "I don't mean to offend you, I want to ask about your education level?" Zhou asked her about her occupation, and Chen's mother answered that she was clean, washing dishes, mopping floors, and washing toilets. During the period, Chen's mother excitedly mentioned that "he will tell me where Chen goes and who he is with." Zhou Ji questioned, "But on the day of the incident, he left the door at 4 o'clock in the morning." Chen's mother said again with excitement, "I'm snoring, and if I know it, I won't go out!"

Probably in her eyes, her son has always been well-behaved, accompanied the two sons to the police station, and "thought it was a trivial matter", but now her son is sitting in the high court defendant's box for interrogation... I seem to be beginning to understand a little, she said, " I don't even know what it means to be sitting here today."

When the judge later sentencing, he specifically mentioned that the two defendants came from a single-parent family, and their family members may not have the time to properly discipline and reduce their sentences as appropriate.

Chen's eyes reddened after smell of manslaughter and intention to hurt others

The only time the defendant's emotions can be clearly seen is on the day of the verdict. After the jury learned about the sentencing procedure from the judge and the clerk, they withdrew from the court at 10:30 a.m. on July 12 for deliberation. Reporters can only wait from outside the court. Experts at the time estimated that this case was a high-profile case, and it might take a few days to discuss, but unexpectedly, the result was obtained after 7 hours.

Just after the court session, Chen Yanting, who was sitting in the defendant's column, frowned deeply, closed his eyes from time to time, took a deep breath, and clenched his hands again. After the jury entered the court, he sat upright. When the secretary asked one by one what proportion of the charges were reached and what decisions were made, Chen moved his seat back and forth, and seemed to be restless. When he learned that the charges of manslaughter and intentional wounding were not convicted, his eyes were red and weeping.

This is the first time reporters have seen him cry in court.

I wrote in my notes, "1729, the recording is finished, and 1730, the trial begins." A seven-member jury lined up to enter the courtroom. At that time, the atmosphere was still relaxed, and there were some whispered conversations. Many people probably thought that the sentencing would be postponed tomorrow morning. When the secretary asked if the jury had made a decision, and the chief juror said "yes", the atmosphere instantly condensed.

That process took a few minutes, but it took a long time. The clerk asked one by one in order of the charges and defendants, "Is there a decision (reach a verdict) for the first defendant's manslaughter?" The chief juror answered yes.

"Is it the same?"
"Yes."
"Convicted or not?"
"invalid."

Someone in the court took a breath.

Repeat the above until the crime of wounding. The secretary asked, "Is it consistent?" The chief said, "No."

Someone in the court made the sound of gulping. The secretary asked, "Is it a big ratio?" "Yes." "How many?" "6 to 1", "5 to 2". The crowd held their breaths. "Convicted or not?" "No." Someone sighed again, and Chen Yi's eyes were red and weeping.

I don't know if he thought at the moment, at least he didn't "take a life". In the end, the two were sentenced to five and a half years in prison, and the teenager who had been away from home for two years will eventually return.

Keep doubts and start with "doubt"

There was no horror in this murder, but it was remarkable. Some media started the topic with "Flying Bricks Killed" and "Sheung Shui Throwing Bricks to Kill a Cleaner", but the clips broadcast during the trial did not clearly show that the deceased was hit by a brick. During the hearing, only the prosecution had During the case management when the jury was not present, he mentioned to the judge that the deceased was hit by a brick, and handed two bricks from the scene to the jurors to let them feel the weight.

In order to reflect the doubts, the "Court Wire" report started with "Sheung Shui cleaner suspected of being murdered by bricks", and later changed to "Sheung Shui cleaner suspected of being murdered by bricks", "Shang Shui cleaner suspected of being murdered with bricks", according to the progress of the trial. Water Cleaner Suspected Killed by Brick".

The prosecution has no evidence or physical evidence to point out that the two defendants are the ones who killed the dead with bricks, but rely on the "joint crime principle" to convict them. Whether this is true or not will of course be left to the court to decide. However, media reports can affect the society and the public's impression of the defendant. Words should be used carefully, and doubts in reality should be reserved and reflected.

On the other hand, the 17-day trial, readers generally do not read every day, "Court Wire" abandons the "continued trial", but indicates the trial day in each report, so that readers can quickly grasp where the trial is going. At this stage, when crawling and combing reports, it is easier to grasp which witnesses and key confessions are in the daily interrogation.

 Case number: HCCC 322/2020