Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 84 - 83: Wang Fugui Goes to Court, Li Qinghe Backstabs (First Update)

Chapter 84: Chapter 83: Wang Fugui Goes to Court, Li Qinghe Backstabs (First Update)

Fortunately, Li Qinghe had forgotten about Zhang Wei.

But Judge Qi had not.

"Ahem, young man, by the look on your face, you seem to want to ask a question, don’t you?"

He looked at Zhang Wei from the bench and remarked, "You are a defense attorney too, come on up."

"Thank you, Your Honor, for the reminder. I indeed have several questions to ask!"

Zhang Wei said in thanks and hurriedly walked up to Group Leader Zhao.

Although the jury had some doubts about why the defense was given two rounds of questioning, they realized it made sense upon recalling what the judge had said before the trial began.

There were two defendants, so it was natural to have two lawyers present in court.

Zhang Wei stood in front of Group Leader Zhao, nodded in greeting, and began to question.

"Group Leader Zhao, I’d like to ask, since you received the report and arrived at the scene promptly, why didn’t you catch the robbers?"

"As I said, when we arrived at the scene, the robbers had already escaped."

Group Leader Zhao looked puzzled and added, "The crime occurred at 10:30 PM; we received the report from the dispatch center and it was already 15 minutes later when we got there. The robbers took only 11 minutes to complete the robbery."

"So what you are saying is, during those 4 minutes, the perpetrators had already fled beyond your reach?"

"Yes, so I believe the criminals likely had a meticulous plan prepared in advance..."

"In other words, they could well be repeat offenders, right?"

"Perhaps."

Seeing Zhang Wei interrupt, Group Leader Zhao did not deny it.

Although his understanding of the safe led him to speculate an inside job, the subsequent escape route made him lean more towards the theory of experienced criminals.

Zhang Wei continued his questioning:

"My colleague, Lawyer Li, stated that the robbers took 11 minutes to commit the crime. She believes that 11 minutes is not something an ordinary person could manage, and you somewhat agreed."

"Now I think that shaking off the pursuit of the Martial Association in 4 minutes is the real feat that an ordinary person couldn’t achieve. What do you think, Group Leader Zhao?"

"Objection!"

Fang Wenbin from the prosecution’s side couldn’t sit still any longer and immediately objected, "The attorney is leading the witness to speculate, rather than providing an effective statement!"

But Zhang Wei had come prepared, and looking towards the bench, he immediately countered, "Your Honor, during the statement phase earlier, the prosecution had Group Leader Zhao speculate numerous times, and the defense never once objected. Besides, I believe Group Leader Zhao, with his extensive experience, can perfectly serve as an expert witness, can’t he?"

"You’re right. The objection is overruled."

Judge Qi nodded unconsciously and said to the prosecution, "Fang Wenbin, you and Group Leader Zhao have worked together more than once, haven’t you? Aren’t you aware of his investigative experience?"

Fang Wenbin sat down begrudgingly, but his gaze towards Zhang Wei shifted slightly.

It was rare for a rookie lawyer to dare to go head to head with him in court. This young man named Zhang Wei indeed had some skill.

"But that’s all there is to it. You may not realize it, young man, but you have already fallen into the trap I’ve prepared!"

Though Fang Wenbin sat down, he was brimming with confidence, for he had a detailed contingency plan prepared in secret.

"Group Leader Zhao, please answer my earlier question."

Group Leader Zhao glanced at Fang Wenbin, then spoke, "Indeed, as you said, the criminals possess considerable anti-surveillance expertise, and they are likely habitual offenders."

"Thank you for your answer. I believe the Chengbei District Investigation Department also carried out a thorough background check on our clients, as requested by Lawyer Li and me. Do you think the two defendants have such anti-surveillance capabilities?"

"They..."

Group Leader Zhao looked at Wang Xi and Kong Hang, and though he wanted to retort, he had to admit the truth due to his professional ethics.

"They do not have such anti-surveillance experience."

"Thank you, Group Leader Zhao. Your answer has really helped our clients a great deal!"

Zhang Wei smiled in gratitude to Group Leader Zhao.

His questioning had caused the 12 jurors to view Wang Xi and Kong Hang somewhat differently.

"I have finished my questioning!"

Having achieved his goal, Zhang Wei returned to the defense bench.

"Judge Qi, we would like to follow up with additional questions!"

Just then, Fang Wenbin suddenly stood up.

He held a document in his hand and walked up to Group Leader Zhao.

"Group Leader Zhao, given the defense attorney’s recent questions, you said that the criminals have high anti-surveillance skills, and these are all based on your experiential deductions, correct?"

"Yes!" Group Leader Zhao nodded.

"Very good!"

Fang Wenbin flipped through the files in his hand and asked, "In the arrest report publicly released by your Martial Association, there’s a section that mentions ’based on the physical evidence at the scene,’ which led to the arrest of the defendant Kong Hang. I’d like to know, what exactly is this so-called physical evidence?"

Despite knowing Fang Wenbin was asking this on purpose, Group Leader Zhao still explained to everyone, "The physical evidence is written right on the exhibit list—prosecution exhibit number 13, a baseball cap."

Fang Wenbin immediately turned his head, signaling his assistant with his eyes.

The assistant took out the exhibit, a cap sealed in a plastic bag, from a briefcase.

"That cap, isn’t it mine..."

At the sight of the cap, Kong Hang in the defendant’s seat showed a slight confusion.

"Group Leader Zhao, where was this cap found?"

"It was found at the crime scene. The surveillance footage showed that the male robber was wearing this cap while robbing the jewelry store, and it fell off him while he was assaulting the store owner, Wang Fugui, so it was left at the crime scene."

"Then, may I ask, did you extract any fingerprints from this cap? I know many people will wonder if fingerprints can be taken from such a cap, so please tell the jurors, tell everyone, consider it a bit of an education for those present."

"No problem."

Group Leader Zhao did not hide anything in response to Fang Wenbin’s question.

"Fingerprints can indeed be lifted from this cap, and the methods for extracting fingerprints mainly include physical and chemical methods. Chemical extraction uses chemicals like silver nitrate and is suited to porous objects like clothing. Through this method, we extracted the suspect Kong Hang’s fingerprints from the cap!"

"Not only that, we also have photos of Kong Hang at the airport before he went on a trip, where he can be seen wearing this cap!"

Upon hearing this, Fang Wenbin was overjoyed and instructed the court clerk, "Please record, Chengbei District Investigation Department Group Leader Zhao testified that the defendant Kong Hang’s fingerprints were found on the cap left at the crime scene!"

Having asked his question, Fang Wenbin concluded his cross-examination.

Zhang Wei, seeing the back-and-forth between the two in the courtroom, suppressed his desire to make sarcastic comments.

You two are putting on a play for me here, as if you’re afraid that others don’t know you’ve already confirmed the existence of the evidence behind the scenes.

As for the cap, Zhang Wei had already seen it on the exhibit list, but unfortunately, he couldn’t deny the fingerprints.

He could only lean over to Kong Hang discreetly and asked about the situation with the cap.

"I lost that cap when I went on a trip to Nandao; I have no idea how it ended up here?"

That was Kong Hang’s reply, clearly of no use at all.

The jurors were even less likely to believe this explanation.

The current situation was quite unfavorable for the defendant.

Zhang Wei was certain that Fang Wenbin had already prepared the cap and the photos of Kong Hang at the airport, and even if he raised an objection or if Li Qinghe asked other questions, Fang Wenbin would throw the evidence in their faces.

The other side was already waiting for this.

The situation was very pessimistic for Zhang Wei’s side, and it even influenced the jury, who looked at Kong Hang with disfavor.

Similarly, Zhang Wei noticed that Wang Xi and Li Qinghe were looking at Kong Hang with suspicion.

Perhaps Kong Hang’s confession about accompanying his ex-girlfriend had made them feel that it was indeed possible for him to commit the crime.

Mistrust among one’s own people was not a good sign.

"The prosecution wishes to call the second witness to the stand!"

Standing up again from the prosecution’s bench, Fang Wenbin continued.

It was still the prosecution’s phase of presenting the case.

"The prosecution calls the victim of this case, also the owner of Fugui Jewelry Store, Wang Fugui, to testify in court!"

Here it comes!

Wang Fugui arrived.

Zhang Wei and Li Qinghe both turned their gaze to the courtroom door.

As the Court Guard opened the door, an elderly man, with the guard’s assistance, took his steps one by one toward the witness stand.

He had white hair, a stooped figure, his forehead wrapped in gauze, and his eyes slightly cloudy.

When he took his seat in the witness stand, he looked around with a confused gaze, his expression a mixture of dazed and wooden.

"Hello, witness, my name is Fang Wenbin. Do you remember me? I came to visit you in the hospital," Fang Wenbin walked up to him and greeted him loudly.

"Ah?" The old man, Wang Fugui, voiced out, seemingly not hearing well.

"Uncle Wang, I’m Fang Wenbin, do you remember me?"

"You... oh, I remember, I saw you in the hospital..."

Wang Fugui took a careful look at Fang Wenbin and immediately recognized him.

"That’s good to hear, Mr. Wang, do you still remember the incident where you were assaulted?"

Fang Wenbin said, pointing to his own forehead and mimicking being hit.

"Of course I remember, it made me so angry, those two good-for-nothing brats, they wrecked my store, when I saw the photos you gave me, I couldn’t bear to look..."

Wang Fugui showed a heartbroken expression and started to curse under his breath.

"Mr. Wang, could you tell us what happened at the time, if that’s alright?"

"Oh, I understand!"

Mr. Wang paused for a moment, and then began to recollect:

"It was last week, I remember that day we had quite a few customers. Usually, Xiao Xi helps me attend to them, but she wasn’t there that day, so I had to hustle on my own. Ah, my poor back, I could barely hold up, it still hurts a bit even now..."

"You can skip that part, Mr. Wang, let’s leave your back out of it..."

Fang Wenbin couldn’t help but interrupt.

Laughter erupted from the juror’s bench.

"Oh, oh, I got it, I won’t mention my back, I’ll just talk about what happened that night, right?"

"Let me think, I was really tired that day, after attending to so many customers during the day, I was exhausted, so I wanted to lie down in the back for a while, but I locked the door. I was in the office, dozing off."

Wang Fugui, as if reminiscing, said in a somewhat vague voice, "I don’t remember how long I slept for, only that I heard a few noises by my ear, like glass breaking or the door being damaged, quite a ruckus anyway. It woke me up, so I immediately opened the door to check. Lo and behold, two good-for-nothing thugs were robbing my store, they even smashed my door, which made me furious. I pressed the panic button in the room right then."

"I thought it would scare them off, but one of the scrawny guys came straight into the room and started hitting me over the head with a stick. He hit so hard I almost thought I was done for..."

Wang Fugui said, looking around, and then he noticed Wang Xi in the defendant’s seat.

His eyes lit up, and he immediately waved his hand in greeting, "Hey, isn’t that Xiao Xi, why are you back? Didn’t you say you were going on a trip?"

Fang Wenbin was completely exasperated.

Li Qinghe and Zhang Wei were speechless.

The laughter from the juror’s bench grew even louder.

Even Judge Qi on the bench couldn’t help but smile at the scene, though it left him deep in thought.

If he grew old, would he become as confused as Wang Fugui on the stand?

"Hey, Xiao Xi, did you have fun on your trip?" Wang Fugui was acting as if the courtroom didn’t exist, waving at Wang Xi.

The latter could only raise her hand awkwardly and respond to Wang Fugui under everyone’s gaze.

"I object!"

But just then, Li Qinghe suddenly stood up to object.

Zhang Wei felt a lurch in his stomach at this action, silently cursing the situation.

"Auntie, please don’t go overboard, please don’t give the jury the impression we’re bullying the elderly or infirm..."

Li Qinghe couldn’t hear Zhang Wei’s inner cry, but stood up to object, "Your Honor, the witness is confused. How can he testify in court? His testimony cannot be trusted!"

Although Judge Qi felt somewhat sympathetic, he couldn’t help but nod his head.

Li Qinghe was speaking the truth, Wang Fugui was obviously confused, his testimony inconsistent.

"What are you young ones blabbering about, how am I confused!"

Hearing others discuss him, calling him confused, Wang Fugui couldn’t hold back.

He pointed at Li Qinghe’s face and scolded, "I’m not confused at all, I remember the events of that night very clearly!"

Fang Wenbin, upon hearing this, let the corners of his mouth lift slightly, then quickly interjected, "Mr. Wang, what do you remember about that night? Please tell us quickly!"

"I remember, of course I remember. After one of those scrawny guys hit me that day, the girl beside him seemed unhappy and even called out his name!"

"Mr. Wang, what did she say?" Fang Wenbin immediately prompted.

"That girl, I remember her exact words were this, she said ’Kong Hang, stop hitting him, you’re going to kill him’... Yes, that’s what she said, I remember it clearly!"

Upon these words, everyone in the jury bench looked towards the defendant Kong Hang.

Zhang Wei’s heart sank several times.

Damn it, how could this old man not be confused at such a critical moment, and remember those words so clearly?

"Thank you for your testimony, I have no further questions for you!"

Seeing that Wang Fugui had responded to his question, providing a satisfactory answer, Fang Wenbin sat back down contentedly in his seat.

Wang Fugui, after answering, looked around blankly, as if pondering why he was sitting there.

Now that the prosecution had finished questioning, it was the defense’s turn for cross-examination.

Theoretically, both Zhang Wei and Li Qinghe could ask questions, but Zhang Wei had a different opinion.

"Auntie, I suggest not questioning him, because this could make a bad impression on the jury..."

Before he could finish, Li Qinghe stood up and walked toward the witness stand.

Zhang Wei was speechless.

Are you really not afraid of dying, or are you planning...

A bad premonition crept into his mind.

"May I ask the witness, you said you saw two criminals, right?"

"Huh?"

Facing Li Qinghe’s questioning, Wang Fugui blinked and seemed to have trouble hearing.

Li Qinghe’s face grew taut as she raised her voice, "Witness, I’m asking you if you saw the criminals?"

"Oh, you’re talking about the criminals? I didn’t see clearly, they were all wearing black clothes, those hats were pretty ugly too..."

"So, you heard a voice, right?"

"Mmm, yes, I heard it, if that girl hadn’t shouted, I reckon that scoundrel would have beaten me to death, my head still hurts!"

Wang Fugui said, pointing to the gauze on his forehead—where he had been hit.

"Then you heard the female criminal’s voice, does it sound familiar to you?"

"Familiar?"

Wang Fugui looked puzzled.

But Zhang Wei seemed to catch on to Li Qinghe’s intention, turning his head quickly to glance at Wang Xi, who was seated aside.

He wanted to see what she was really thinking.

However, the expression on Wang Xi’s face indicated she was completely unaware of Li Qinghe’s plan.

"Lawyer Zhang, what is Auntie Xiao Xi planning to ask?"

"Her? I guess she’s planning to stab us in the back!"

Kong Hang was confused, but Zhang Wei’s expression darkened.

In the court, Li Qinghe posed another question.

"Uncle Wang, you should know Xiao Xi, right?"

"Of course, Xiao Xi has always been helping out in my store, I treat her like my own daughter!"

"Then let me ask you, if Xiao Xi spoke, could you immediately recognize her voice?"

"Certainly, I can recognize Xiao Xi’s voice, I see her nearly every day, how could I not know it?"

"So, the female criminal’s voice, was it Xiao Xi’s?"

Wang Fugui thought for a moment, then shook his head: "No, it wasn’t Xiao Xi; if it had been, I would’ve recognized it right away!"

With that, everyone understood.

The defendant Wang Xi was probably innocent.

And since Uncle Wang had pointed the finger at another defendant, Kong Hang, it was very likely that it was Kong Hang and another woman who were the culprits.

At any rate, it was clear that Wang Xi was not the criminal.

"Thank you, Uncle!"

"Your Honor, I have no more questions for this witness!"

Li Qinghe, hearing this response, finally smiled, looking satisfied as she returned to her seat.

"Lawyer Zhang, what about you?"

Seeing Judge Qi inquire, Zhang Wei shook his head, unwilling to further entangle with Wang Fugui.

"Lawyer Zhang, why don’t you ask some questions?"

Feeling the hostile gazes from all around the courtroom, Kong Hang was panicked.

Zhang Wei then patted his shoulder:

"Young man, you need to learn to bear things silently. I’ll tell you, this move is called a backstab, and it’s painfully sharp!"

As he said this, his eyes turned to Li Qinghe.

Unfortunately, she turned her head away, clearly with no intention of acknowledging him.

It seemed that Auntie truly intended to abandon Zhang Wei and Kong Hang.