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April 20, 2011

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Lawyer denies eliciting perjury during hearing

A LAWYER serving a prison term for helping an alleged mob boss falsely claim torture to get a shorter sentence stood trial in southwest China yesterday for allegedly encouraging perjury in another case after prosecutors brought out an additional charge.

"Nonsense!" Li Zhuang, a 50-year-old lawyer at Beijing Kangda Law Firm, yelled when prosecutors introduced evidence to prove he encouraged witness Xu Lijun to overturn testimony to get his client Meng Ying free of prosecution in July 2008, reported Cqnews.net, a Chongqing-based Website portal, yesterday.

Li served as defense lawyer for Meng, a legal representative of Shanghai Jintangcheng Bath Center, who was being tried on charges of embezzling 500,000 yuan (US$76,566) from Xu's company, Chongqing's Jiangbei District People's Court heard. Xu had given the money to Meng to invest in the bath center, the court heard.

After the first trial, Xu changed her story and said she had loaned the money to Meng, thus making Meng innocent of embezzlement, the indictment said.

Xu said in court yesterday that Li had encouraged her to give false testimony, promising her money could be returned after the trial.

Li said he told Xu the difference between an investment and a personal loan, but denied trying to elicit false testimony. Li said there is no evidence proving the money was for investment. A verdict was not reached last night.

Li received a reduced one-and-a-half-year jail sentence on February 9, 2010, after appealing his conviction for falsifying evidence and jeopardizing testimony.


 

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