Chapter 196 The Mainland’s Largest Prosecution Case
The legal team was quickly formed, with Professor Han from Peking University Law School serving as the chief lawyer. In accordance with the territorial principle, the legal team submitted the complaint to the third-level court in Beijing.
There are hundreds of newspapers that have spread the scandal about Liu Hongmin, and this case immediately attracted the attention of the court. The evidence submitted by Professor Han and others was so sufficient that they had to file a case and then mail subpoenas to various newspapers.
Suing hundreds of newspapers together, this case immediately caused an uproar in the capital. "New Light" immediately followed up and reported the case.
Because the mailing system requires sorting and other processes, the court summons has not yet been sent to those remote areas, and those newspapers first saw the fact that they were being sued from the "New Light".
The newspapers didn't take this seriously. They didn't have much legal knowledge. They just thought that they were a unit and only needed to be responsible to their superiors.
After receiving the subpoena, he did not take it seriously at all and even threw it away. They think that the sky is high and the emperor is far away, and no matter how powerful the capital is, it cannot control them. Not to mention it is just a civil dispute, even if it is a business matter, they will not pay attention to it.
But they did not expect that civil disputes can be heard even if the defendant is not present.
The legal team formed by Liu Hongmin listed the evidence one by one. Liu Hongmin's net worth is huge. After his reputation was damaged, the economic losses caused were also sky-high, reaching more than 12.6 million. In addition to the mental damages of more than 5.4 million yuan, the total is 18 million yuan. If compensation is based on this price, these newspapers will have to compensate at least 100,000 yuan, and the maximum compensation will be 3 to 500,000 yuan, which is more than their annual funding.
There is no precedent for this kind of case in China, so the third-level courts dare not ask the newspaper to compensate according to the price.
But Professor Han and others have great influence, and their demands are backed by law. Therefore, the third-level courts also feel the pressure and dare not make arbitrary decisions.
Fortunately, because there was too much evidence, the third level court in Beijing had a chance to breathe. While checking the evidence, they asked the higher court for instructions to obtain legal aid.
The second-level court did not encounter such a thing and continued to ask for instructions. The first-level court also encountered some difficulties and could only continue to ask for instructions.
Soon, they got the hint. The trial opinions reached all the way to the third-level courts, which immediately felt confident. After checking the evidence for several days, the court sentenced more than 100 newspapers to compensate Liu Hongmin 10.62 million yuan for economic losses and 1.03 million yuan for mental damages, totaling 11.65 million yuan. They were assigned to various newspapers, and the minimum compensation was 50,000 yuan, and the maximum compensation was 300,000 yuan.
After the verdict was notified, it was mailed to various newspapers again. After the newspaper received the verdict, it didn't take it seriously at all.
"Liu Hongmin is really having a sweet dream. He thinks that after the court judgment, he wants us to compensate. It is simply a dream."
"It is said that the richer the people, the stingier they are, but Liu Hongmin still lacks this little money from us. , It’s simply unreasonable.”
“It’s really a lion’s mouth. Liu Hongmin really knows how to make money!”
After the verdict, he immediately made money. It caused an uproar. In the current economic environment, the emergence of a case involving compensation of tens of millions is like a mushroom bomb, instantly triggering a nationwide discussion.
The party that supports the verdict believes that those who spread rumors should be made to pay the price. Especially since Gong Xue had just been rumored by the media to leave the United States, her supporters hated the media who spread the rumors. What happened to Liu Hongmin now made them very sympathetic.
Those who opposed the verdict believed that the punishment was too severe. If all decisions are made in this way, then in the future you can make a fortune just by filing a complaint. They quoted it out of context. After all, Liu Hongmin's net worth was there. Let alone 10 million, even 100 million was still a drop in the bucket for Liu Hongmin.
Amid the turmoil, Liu Hongmin did not receive any compensation. Liu Hongmin did not expect these newspapers to compensate. Instead, he waited until the compensation period in the court ruling had passed and published an article in the New Light Newspaper.
The direction of public opinion changed instantly, and those who followed the trend followed suit. Whether he really wanted to speak out for Liu Hongmin or he just took advantage of the situation, he became the vanguard in attacking those newspapers.
Those newspapers fell into a passive position instantly. They did not expect that things would turn out like this. When dealing with Gong Xue, there were no such things. Why is the situation different when we get to Liu Hongmin? Even if he is a representative of a person's name, he shouldn't have so much energy!
Obviously, these newspapers underestimated Liu Hongmin's influence, and even more underestimated the importance Xiyuan attached to Liu Hongmin.
Liu Hongmin's legal team began to visit the country, directly contacting the superior units of these newspapers, stating the facts, and demanding that these newspapers that did not abide by the laws and regulations be punished. Faced with nationwide pressure, many places had to give in and shut down newspapers directly.
Anyway, these newspapers are just local subordinate newspapers, not directly affiliated, and are not important to the local area. Moreover, after being responsible for their own profits and losses, the economic situation of these newspapers is not very good, and they still need to provide funding. Now that it's closed, they can save some money in the future.
Under such circumstances, it is better to go with the flow and give Liu Hongmin some face.
Sure enough, after they shut down the newspaper, they immediately received a call from Liu Hongmin. In the phone call, Liu Hongmin promised to invest in building a local factory or acquire a bankrupt factory within the next three years.
In August, Fengtian Explosion-Proof Factory went bankrupt and liquidated. Many factories across the country that cannot survive are beginning to count down. This situation exists in various places. Liu Hongmin's promise to buy closed factories has solved a major problem for them.
With such an example, other places will shut down those newspapers directly without waiting for the lawyers to arrive. Before the New Year of 1987, all the newspapers that spread rumors about Liu Hongmin's scandal were shut down, and no one was left.
The closure of so many newspapers at once made the media across the country shudder. This was also the first time they knew that Liu Hongmin was so capable.
After this incident, the national media trend suddenly returned to the right track. After all, the cost of spreading rumors is too high, and no one can afford it.
The editors and reporters who caused the newspaper to close immediately became the target of public criticism, and those who were implicated and lost their jobs hated them. Many people had sacks tied over their heads while walking at night and were beaten severely.
Some were even seriously injured and lay in hospital beds for more than half a year.
The old man surnamed Wang saw that one newspaper office after another was closed down, and his people lost their jobs one by one, and could not even support their families. He suddenly became so angry that he couldn't even breathe, so he went to the hospital.
After examination, he was diagnosed with a stroke, hemiplegia, aphasia, and had to leave his job.
(End of this chapter)