He was dumbfounded. The version Qin Mu narrated… was completely different from what his third aunt had said.

In his statement, Qin Mu claimed that the damage to the cars was caused by unruly children, corroborated by dashcam footage from nine vehicles, plus surveillance from the building's underground parking garage.

It's important to note that each of these car owners parked in an assigned spot. If the dashcams recorded the same person… it was practically ironclad evidence. There was no possibility of forgery. Combined with the building's surveillance footage, the perpetrator's identity could be definitively established.

But his third aunt claimed that Qin Mu and others were framing them, taking the opportunity to blackmail and extort money. She had even provided him with a video clip.

That video… Couldn't it have been forged?

He swallowed, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He knew Qin Mu very well. Qin Mu had been responsible for sending batch after batch of defendants to prison.

Qin Mu surely wouldn't fabricate such crucial evidence. People who understand the law… seldom break it recklessly. But his third aunt was different!

Recalling his third aunt's slightly odd behavior over the past two days, he grew more convinced the video was fake!

With current technology, identifying video editing and post-production traces is very easy. And fabricating evidence in court… would carry severe legal consequences, potentially even constituting perjury.

According to Article 306 of the Criminal Law, in criminal proceedings, if defense attorneys or litigation agents destroy or fabricate evidence, help parties destroy or fabricate evidence, or threaten or induce witnesses to change their testimony contrary to the facts or to commit perjury, they shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a fixed term of no more than three years or criminal detention. In serious cases, the punishment is imprisonment for a fixed term of not less than three years and not more than seven years. This applies to criminal proceedings.

However, Article 111 of the Civil Procedure Law also stipulates that litigation participants who commit any of the following acts shall be held criminally liable:

(1) Forging or destroying important evidence, thereby obstructing the court's trial of the case;

(2) Using violence, threats, or bribery to prevent witnesses from testifying, or instructing, bribing, or coercing others to commit perjury;

(3) Concealing, transferring, selling, or damaging property that has been sealed or seized…

Regarding the first point, if the circumstances are deemed serious, it could lead to charges such as fabricating evidence, malicious prosecution, forgery of official state documents, or fraud.

Judicial interpretations also define 'serious circumstances': it is sufficient if the evidence provided by a litigation participant is capable of reversing the case's outcome, is an attempt to gain improper profit, or causes others to suffer unlawful losses. Any of these constitutes serious circumstances.

This means… this video is a ticking time bomb! Once it's revealed, not only will Bai Shuirong be doomed, but so will I! At the very least, it means imprisonment for up to three years!

Thinking about this, Zhang Wei felt his hair stand on end, suddenly feeling that practicing law was an incredibly dangerous profession.

One careless step… and I could have been ruined by my own relative.

THUMP—

At that moment, the solemn sound of the gavel rang out in the courtroom. The Judgment Chief looked at Zhang He and said in a deep voice, "Next, the defendant will present their defense."

At the defense table, Zhang He was somewhat panicked. He couldn't help but turn to look at Bai Shuirong, then at Zhang Wei. But he found… Zhang Wei had suddenly fallen silent, his gaze lowered, his expression unreadable, saying nothing.

Therefore, he could only begin the defense as Zhang Wei had instructed him before the hearing: "Your Honor, I find the plaintiff's accusations completely unreasonable. Their nine vehicles were damaged simultaneously; the extent of the damage doesn't look like something a child could have caused at all. Moreover, they colluded with the building management to intimidate and induce us, attempting to force us into a private settlement of seven to eight hundred thousand yuan. And now, they've made an exorbitant demand for 1.09 million yuan in compensation. Their actions could even constitute extortion…"

With some trepidation, he recited in court the defense statement Zhang Wei had prepared for him. Zhang Wei listened to these familiar words, his face expressionless. Inwardly, however, he was sick with regret.

If I had known my relative was such a liability… I would never have taken this case. Damaging my own reputation would be a minor issue. If I mishandled this, I could very easily land myself in prison!

The Civil Procedure Law clearly states that in civil cases, if the circumstances are deemed serious enough, litigation participants can end up in jail! Litigation participants include the parties involved, their legal representatives, witnesses, and so on.

THUMP—

In the courtroom, after a brief moment of contemplation, the Judgment Chief continued, "Having heard the preceding arguments, the court summarizes the two main points of contention in this case. First, the defendant denies damaging the cars. Second, the defendant believes the plaintiff's claim for 1.09 million yuan is unreasonable and suggests it may be attempted extortion."

Summarizing the issues is a mandatory task for the collegiate bench in the early stages of a trial. This allows for a targeted adjudication of the case. Its purpose is to clarify the case's context, identify the infringing and injured parties, and determine the respective responsibilities of each party, among other things.

"We will now proceed to the evidence presentation and cross-examination phase."

Subsequently, the trial quickly moved to the next phase. On the plaintiff's side, Wang Dachui immediately stood up and presented a series of evidence Qin Mu had prepared, submitting it all to the court.

"These are videos from the same time frame, captured by the dashcams of the nine damaged vehicles."

"This is the surveillance video from the building's underground parking garage."

"This is the elevator surveillance video, provided by building management, showing Zhang Linlin entering the underground parking garage."

"These are the repair quotations from the authorized dealerships for the nine vehicles."

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