Unlicensed Printing of Banned Publications Leads to Suspended Sentence After Voluntary Surrender in Jiangsu

Zhang ran a printing plant in the urban area but had not obtained a Printing Business License. The defendant showed a relatively good attitude and requested a lighter penalty. Based on Zhang’s criminal circumstances and evidence of repentance, the court decided to apply a suspended sentence and made the above first-instance judgment in accordance with the law.

On August 19, the Tinghu Court in Jiangsu heard the case and delivered a first-instance judgment: Zhang was convicted of illegal business operation and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, suspended for four years, and fined RMB 50,000.

Zhang ran a printing plant in the urban area but had not obtained a Printing Business License. In November 2012, Zhang met a man who claimed to be surnamed Li and asked to cooperate by printing books and periodicals at Zhang’s plant. Seeing that there was profit to be made, Zhang agreed. From the end of 2012 to February 2013, while unlicensed, Zhang illegally printed two kinds of prohibited books and periodicals for “Li” at his own printing plant, totaling 101,500 copies. Later, by chance, Zhang learned that “Li” was only an alias and that his real name was Hu, and he began to become suspicious of him. In 2013, Hu was arrested by the police. After watching related legal education programs on television, Zhang discovered that the books and periodicals he had printed for Hu were all prohibited items. Frightened, Zhang voluntarily surrendered to the public security authorities and truthfully confessed the above facts.

During this period, entrusted by the court, the Office of the Leading Group for Community Correction Work of Tinghu District submitted to the court a circumstances investigation report on the defendant Zhang and suggested that a non-custodial penalty be applied to him. Zhang’s defense lawyer argued that the typesetting throughout the printing process was brought by Hu himself, most of the relevant personnel were arranged by Hu, and the covers of the books and periodicals were also printed by Hu elsewhere; Zhang only printed the middle part. The defense requested a lighter penalty. Based on Zhang’s criminal circumstances and evidence of repentance, the court decided to apply a suspended sentence and made the above first-instance judgment in accordance with the law.

——This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-361770.html