CH 33

This unexpected recording disrupted Wang Tao’s plan. According to his original thoughts, Liu Qiang’s testimony was vague and he was intoxicated, making it easy to invalidate his testimony.

But now, out of nowhere, this recording emerged, completely changing the situation.

Wang Tao’s mind raced as he calculated what he might have missed. He carefully recalled the brief recording from earlier, striving to find any loopholes.

Before the trial, he had already watched all the surveillance videos from the day of the incident. If Liu Qiang had fabricated the recording, there would inevitably be inconsistencies between the audio and the surveillance footage. The problem was that Liu Qiang’s recording was too short, lasting just over a minute, and Wang Tao was struggling to recall specific details.

He felt anxious, but in his peripheral vision, he happened to notice Jiang Heng. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind, and he lowered his voice to ask, “On the day of the incident, did you receive a lot of patients?”

“Yes,” Ji Yao said, “Why?”

“That’s it then,” Wang Tao said, “This recording of his isn’t from that day.”

Ji Yao hadn’t caught on yet, but Wang Tao had already raised his hand to signal.

“We have an objection,” Wang Tao said, “We have evidence to prove that this recording file is forged.”

“How is that possible!” Liu Qiang exclaimed, “Don’t talk nonsense.”

“On the day of the incident, while Mr. Li Wen was admitted to the hospital, there was a fire in the old building area of Shanghai due to electrical circuit aging. The fire was significant, with one death and twelve injuries.” Wang Tao said, “At the same time, there was a series of car accidents at the intersection of the two streets at the hospital entrance, with two injured individuals. Both of these incidents happened near my client’s hospital. As the receiving hospital, they had ambulances transporting patients all day.”

“This is also reflected in the surveillance videos.” Wang Tao said, “The emergency room was continuously receiving new patients that day. It’s true that Mr. Liu’s recording had the sound of a hospital bed being pushed, but there’s no sound of ambulance sirens at the emergency room entrance in your recording.”

Liu Qiang’s expression turned unpleasant.

“Your recording is one minute and twenty-six seconds long, and it takes about thirty to forty-five seconds for an ambulance to transport a patient to the emergency room.” Wang Tao said, “So, according to the number of stretchers passing by in the video while you were conversing with our client, your recording should have at least two instances of siren sounds.”

Liu Qiang instinctively turned to look at Jiang Heng, seeking some assistance from his own lawyer. However, Jiang Heng calmly smoothed out the documents in his hand and didn’t say a word.

Ji Yao couldn’t help but glance at Jiang Heng too, curious about his reaction. Unexpectedly, Jiang Heng didn’t spare even half a glance at Liu Qiang. Instead, he slightly turned his head and whispered a couple of sentences to Li Linghua.

Actually, Liu Qiang could have said something, like his phone being in his pocket, the recording being unclear due to his narrow surroundings and the presence of many people, making it difficult to capture the sound of sirens clearly.

But he was already anxious and flustered. He didn’t want to raise suspicion from Li Linghua, so he rushed to testify without thinking. Now, he was exposed on the spot and got so scared that he forgot his lines.

Li Linghua’s complexion turned even more pale than Liu Qiang’s. She stared at Liu Qiang’s retreating figure with wide eyes, unable to utter a single word.

The panel of judges exchanged a few words and decided to adjourn temporarily to investigate and verify the evidence.

Liu Qiang was taken into custody for further processing, while Li Linghua couldn’t stand staying in the room any longer. She suddenly stood up, clutching the small box in her hand, and briskly left through the back door.

Jiang Heng stood up and followed closely behind her.

Ji Yao’s heart was still racing, and he placed a hand on his chest, sighing with lingering fear.

“It’s alright now,” Wang Tao reassured him, “With the witness fabricating evidence, the credibility of the testimony will be completely invalidated. Barring any surprises, we should win the case.”

“Why would he fabricate evidence?” Ji Yao asked, “Li Linghua doesn’t even want compensation.”

“People are complex. When they have something they really don’t want to lose, they’ll take risks for it.” Wang Tao said, “Liu Qiang is completely dependent on Li Linghua’s existence. If Li Linghua finds out he intentionally delayed Li Wen’s treatment, she won’t let him off. He’s backed into a corner and has to do this.”

Ji Yao let out a sigh, feeling more mentally exhausted than ever before.

“I’m going outside to get some fresh air,” Ji Yao said.

“Go ahead,” Wang Tao said, “I’ll be here waiting for updates.”

Ji Yao left the courtroom through the back door. He had intended to stand in the corridor for a while, but as soon as he stepped out, he heard movement from the neighboring room.

He glanced over and noticed that the door to the adjacent resting room wasn’t completely shut. Li Linghua was sobbing uncontrollably, cradling something in her arms, while Jiang Heng stood beside her, handing her tissues.

“I never thought he could be so heartless,” Li Linghua lamented tearfully. “I thought at most he wanted money, but I never imagined he would intentionally let our son die, watching Xiao Wen die—my own son!”

Just ten minutes ago, Li Linghua had still clung to a glimmer of hope, but now she could no longer ignore the reality in front of her.

Maybe deep down, when she had repeatedly questioned Liu Qiang about the situation, she had already had a premonition. Yet she couldn’t believe, and couldn’t afford to believe, that the person who used to share her life could be so ruthless.

“He didn’t directly participate in premeditated murder, he probably didn’t have the nerve for that,” Jiang Heng said objectively. “It was likely an impulsive decision to deliberately withhold the medical information and delay treatment. If it succeeded, he wouldn’t have directly caused a death, and if it failed, he wouldn’t have lost much.”

Li Linghua’s makeup was smudged from crying, her eyes red, and her fingers clenched the box tightly.

“Is there any way to make him pay? Can he be held accountable as an accomplice to murder?” Li Linghua asked. “My Xiao Wen can’t die in vain. Just because he claims it wasn’t intentional doesn’t mean it should be overlooked.”

Jiang Heng handed her another tissue, his tone gentle. “I understand, you can trust me.”

The panel of judges quickly deliberated and reached a conclusion. The large fire in the old city area on the day of the incident was big news, trending locally for several days. By comparing the time and the surveillance footage, it was easy to reach a conclusion.

The fact that Liu Qiang forged evidence was established, and as a result, his testimony was invalidated. Based on the presumption of innocence and the POCT results, the court ultimately classified this medical dispute as an accidental event.

During the second half of the trial, Li Linghua’s mood was low throughout. She finally realized that the real culprit was someone else, so she no longer clung tightly to Ji Yao. She expressed her willingness to drop the charges.

After the trial, Jiang Heng and Li Nan accompanied Li Linghua out, while Ji Yao, accompanied by Wang Tao, went to handle the procedures to lift his bail. This added another hour of hassle, and by the time they left, the sky had already turned dark.

Ironically, even though he had only attended one court session, Ji Yao strangely felt a sense of relief when he stepped out again.

Standing on the steps outside the courthouse, he couldn’t help but stretch his back in a lazy manner.

Wang Tao came out of the courthouse after him, noticing his demeanor and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Feeling better now?”

“Yes.” Ji Yao smiled. “Finally done. These two months have been suffocating.”

“From now on, you don’t have to worry anymore.” Wang Tao handed the closing documents to Ji Yao. “Go home and get a good night’s sleep.”

“Oh, by the way,” Ji Yao asked. “What’s going to happen to Liu Qiang, who fabricated evidence?”

“No one posted bail for him, and he’s already been detained. The prosecution will press charges, and he’ll be charged with perjury based on obstructing judicial investigation.” Wang Tao couldn’t help but laugh, commenting, “Speaking of which, Jiang Heng is truly an excellent student of his mentor. His mind works really fast.”

“What do you mean?” Ji Yao asked.

Wang Tao waved at him, signaling him to talk as they walked.

“The truth is, this case isn’t complicated at all. The complexity just lies in the victim—Li Linghua’s refusal to accept reality and the difficulty in classifying Liu Qiang’s actions as criminal. He was drunk and faced with special pressure. Even if Li Linghua realized and wanted to argue that he deliberately delayed the rescue time, it would be hard to prove his malice, and it’s difficult to assign criminal responsibility. So, Jiang Heng found another solution to resolve both issues.”

“When I said he chose criminal proceedings over civil litigation to make it easier for you, it seems there’s more to it,” Wang Tao said. “The charge of fabricating evidence only applies to criminal proceedings, not civil ones. He insisted on going through criminal proceedings, probably anticipating Liu Qiang’s actions. Either Liu Qiang refuses to testify and loses, or he ends up in this kind of situation. In either case, Li Linghua will see the truth clearly. Moreover, I don’t think she’s trying to make a scene; she just doesn’t want her son’s death to be in vain. People like her, they can be difficult if they want to, but if they agree, they’re easy to work with. Once the situation is clarified, she won’t cling to you.”

Suddenly, Ji Yao remembered the conversation he had with Jiang Heng during their last meeting at the hospital.

“So, he actually didn’t want to put me in jail?” Ji Yao’s expression turned somewhat odd.

“But he can only put you in jail if there’s evidence. The court won’t make baseless judgments,” Wang Tao couldn’t help but laugh, “Anyway, don’t say it like that. He’s actually not a bad person. He’s treated Li Linghua well and even helped you out. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been able to handle the compensation—these young lawyers nowadays are so impressive.”