Jiang Ge Trial* * *There are 38 auditoriums, including 6 press seats, and the rest will be decided by drawing lots. Since Japan restored the jury system on May 31, 2009, in this trial, in addition to the three judges, there were six jurors. These jurors were also randomly selected and are all ordinary Japanese citizens. Before that, they did not know the specific facts of the case. They could only grasp the course of the incident through the statements of the prosecution and defense in court, and then make a judgment.
But these six jurors only judged from the perspective of ordinary citizens, so they will not have any decisive impact on the final verdict. Jiang Ge's trial will last for seven days, from February 11 to 15 and 18, and the verdict will be pronounced at 3 pm on February 20, Tokyo time.
Although the media generally expects that the possibility of the defendant Chen Shifeng being sentenced to death is very low, observing the trial process of the Jiang Ge case and describing it from the respective perspectives of the prosecution and defense can outline the entire story and provide the public with Provides a more objective basis for making judgments.
Day 1: The source of the fruit knife becomes the key.
65438 The court session will begin at 10am on February 11th. On the first day, the trial mainly included the prosecution's evidence, defendant Chen Shifeng's statement and the forensic doctor's autopsy report. In the evidence, the prosecution accused Chen Shifeng of intimidation and intentional homicide. Because he had repeatedly forced Liu Xin (Edison Chen's ex-girlfriend and Jiang Ge's roommate) to get back together and threatened to publish her underwear photos, the prosecutor charged him with intimidation.
As for the crime of intentional homicide, the prosecutor believed that Chen Shifeng prepared a fruit knife before going to Jiang Ge's residence and had a clear plan. According to the prosecution's evidence, the police found the sheath of the fruit knife in the research laboratory of Chen Shifeng University, but did not find the knife.
At the same time, on the way to Jiang Ge's house, Chen Shifeng did not take the subway as usual. Instead, he bought a one-way ticket after riding two stops, and even brought a change of clothes that day. Therefore, the prosecutor believed that Chen Shifeng's motive for killing was strong and his plan was obvious.
As for the prosecution's charges, the defendant and his lawyer only admitted to the crime of intimidation and not to the crime of intentional homicide. Chen Shifeng's lawyer pointed out that Chen Shifeng went to Jiang Ge's house that day mainly to communicate about love issues and not to kill Jiang Ge or Liu Xin; Chen Shifeng brought a change of clothes and went there twice that day because he could not find a self-service investment through his smartphone. Coin washing machine.
As for the fruit knife used as evidence of the murder, Chen Shifeng’s lawyer said that Liu Xin gave it to Jiang Ge. Chen Shifeng accidentally injured Jiang Ge while fighting for the knife, causing his death. From then on, Chen Shifeng stabbed him nine times in succession because he did not want to burden his family with the high cost of treatment.
In addition to the prosecutor and the defendant, Kotaro Iwase, a professor at the University of Tokyo who served as a forensic examiner that day, was also questioned in court. Yanse pointed out that Jiang Ge's fatal injury was a stab wound to the left common carotid artery, which was caused by excessive blood loss. There were 11 to 12 wounds on the neck, but it was impossible to confirm which knife was the key to Jiang Ge's death.
The next day: Jiang Mu appeared in court for the first time.
During the court hearing on the morning of February 65438, Jiang Ge’s mother, Jiang Qiulian, made a statement in court, adding some details about the night of the crime.
According to Jiang Qiulian's statement, she had a WeChat voice call with Jiang Ge for about 1 hour and 40 minutes on the evening of October 2, 2006. Jiang Ge was killed 8 minutes after the call. . During the mother-daughter voice chat, Jiang Ge told his mother about Liu Xin and Chen Shifeng's breakup, while Jiang Qiulian reminded Jiang Ge, "It is better to offend a gentleman than a villain. You have to be careful of him hitting you." Jiang Ge replied at the time: " Don’t worry, I won’t fight with him. Japan is safe. If something happens, the police will come immediately.”
In addition to recalling the conversation that night, Jiang Qiulian also talked about Jiang Ge’s plans for the future.
Jiang Qiulian said that after graduating, Jiang Ge did not want to return to China to take the civil service examination, but wanted to stay in Japan until he had a certain financial strength, opened a small bar that did not make money, and took his mother to Japan.
Since there were still disagreements on the source of the key evidence, the fruit knife, on the first day of the trial, the prosecutor also asked Jiang Qiulian about this. Jiang Qiulian said that she had never heard of Jiang Ge using a fruit knife to defend himself, nor had her daughter said that Liu Xin used a fruit knife to defend himself. At the same time, a tutor at Chen Shifeng University said that he bought the same fruit knife, but he did not open the package.
In the court hearing that afternoon, based on Liu Xin’s previous confession, the details of her relationship with Chen Shifeng were clarified. At the end of April 2016, Liu Xin and Chen Shifeng met at the graduate school of Daito Bunka University. Due to Chen Shifeng's thoughtful speech in class, Liu Xin developed a liking for him, and the two began living together in June 2016.
In August of the same year, Liu Xin and Chen Shifeng quarreled in the room they shared, and because Chen Shifeng kicked them out, they had to stay at a friend's house for one night. Liu Xin once confided her relationship with Chen Shifeng to Jiang Ge, and Jiang Ge advised Liu Xin not to contact Chen Shifeng again. Since then, Chen Shifeng hoped to reunite with Liu Xin many times, but was rejected every time.
The third day: Liu Xin appeared in court to testify.
During the court hearings in February and March, Liu Xin, the most important witness in the Jiang Ge case, appeared in court to testify. But instead of appearing directly in court, she was arranged to testify via video link from another room in the Tokyo District Court.
In the morning trial, the witness who was supposed to be Chen Shifeng's side suddenly canceled his appearance to testify for some reason, causing the morning trial to end in just over 20 minutes. Later media reported that the defendant's witness was absent because he had received threatening phone calls.
As an on-site witness, Liu Xin appeared in court at 13:05 that afternoon and accepted questioning from the prosecutor, defense lawyer and judge. The defense attorney mainly questioned the fruit knife and the door closing. The defendant's lawyer believes that there are at least eight knife shops around Liu Xin and Jiang Ge, so the fruit knife does not belong to Chen Shifeng. In this regard, Liu Xin denied passing a fruit knife to Jiang Ge, saying that he only had two kitchen knives at home and no fruit knife.
Defense attorneys also questioned the closure. According to the recording of the 12.12 interrogation released by the Japanese police, Liu Xin said when calling the police on the day of the incident: "The door is locked, don't curse!" In response, Liu Xin responded that what he said at the time was: "The door is locked." Why is it locked? Stop making trouble!" The police did not record the word "how". The defense lawyer believes that the word "how" was not shown in the police recording, and Liu Xin did not mention the word "how" when recording his confession. The prosecutor also agreed with the issues raised by the defense attorney.
Day Four: Chen Shifeng said Liu Xin kicked Jiang Ge out.
On the fourth day of the trial, the defendant Chen Shifeng was interrogated by the prosecutor, the defendant's lawyer and the judge for the first time in court, and described the situation on the day of the crime.
Chen Shifeng said: On the day of the crime, it was not to kill Liu Xin, nor to find Liu Xin, but to find Jiang Ge. He hoped to improve his relationship with Liu Xin through communication with Jiang Ge. That night he waited at the spiral staircase between the second and third floors of Jiang Ge's residence. After Liu Xin entered the house, he walked over and took a photo of Jiang Ge, who was already halfway into the house. Jiang Ge was surprised at the time and shouted "Ah". He immediately covered Jiang Ge's mouth with his hand, signaling her to be quiet.
At this time, Liu Xin, who was in the house, heard the noise outside and asked, "What happened to his uncle?". Later, Chen Shifeng heard the sound of the door locking, and heard Liu Xin say: "Uncle, take it." At this moment, singer Jiang suddenly took out a knife and stabbed him in the eye. While fighting with Jiang Ge for a knife, Chen Shifeng "accidentally scratched (stabbed) Jiang Ge, causing his death.
When asked, Chen Shifeng said that he looked at Liu Xin while he was getting the keys during the day. There was something in her bag, but he didn't see it clearly at the time. Later, he thought it was a knife. At the same time, during the trial, Chen Shifeng also said that after Jiang Ge screamed, Liu Xin opened the door and handed the knife to Jiang Ge. The sound of chains locking the door was heard.
Day 5: Jiang Mu fainted in the court.
During the trial on February 5, 2018, the defendant Chen Shifeng continued to be questioned by the prosecutor, defense lawyer and judge.
Chen Shifeng said in court that after his arrest, he wrote to Jiang Mu four times to apologize, but none of them was sent. At the same time, Chen Shifeng also reflected: "I committed such a big crime. To be honest, I don't know how I lost my life. If I can, I am willing to do my best to compensate." After hearing this, Jiang Qiulian suddenly said emotionally: " Give me my daughter back and pay with your life!" Then Jiang Qiulian covered her chest with her hands, leaned on the chair and suddenly fainted. The judge declared an emergency adjournment.
After the court reopened, Chen Shifeng confessed in court his whereabouts after committing the crime.
Chen Shifeng said that after leaving Jiang Ge’s apartment in the early morning of June 5438 065438 October 3, he buried the fruit knife in a construction site about 50 meters away from Jiang Ge’s residence (Japanese police have not yet The murder weapon was found). After burying the fruit knife, I sat at the scene for 30 seconds, then took out a change of clothes from my bag, put them on, and went home. The next day, Chen Shifeng threw the pants and hat he wore when committing the crime into the garbage heap downstairs.
165438 On October 5, he threw the backpack he carried when committing the crime into Ueno Park. Chen Shifeng also confessed that he continued to kill for no more than 10 seconds, and Jiang Ge's blood spurted out violently. His body was shaking at the time. When he squatted down, his whole body was covered with water and he wet his pants.
After Chen Shifeng pleaded guilty, Jiang Qiulian commissioned a lawyer to read a love letter she wrote in court. In the letter, Jiang Mu recalled Jiang Ge's growth experience, how Jiang Ge had his first child, and his future life plans. The atmosphere at the scene was affected by this complaint letter, and many people in the audience nodded and sighed or burst into tears.
After five days of court hearing, the evidence investigation phase surrounding Jiang Ge’s case has ended. 65438 On February 16 and 17, the court adjourned. 65438 On February 18, the Jiang Ge case will continue to be heard in the Tokyo District Court. The judge and jurors will then hold a closed-door meeting on the 19th and finally pass the verdict on the afternoon of the 20th. At this point, the Jiang Ge case, which has attracted much public attention, will come to a final conclusion, but the thinking it leaves for the public may not end there.