Earthly Reminder | Spring plowing is in full swing, be wary of illegal and criminal activities in the agricultural supplies field!

【Keywords】

Crime of producing and selling counterfeit products Counterfeit pesticides Entrusted production Online sales

【Basic Case Information】

Starting from 2015, Zhang Moumou and Huo Moumou successively fabricated "Qingdao Mou Chemical Group Co., Ltd." and registered "Qingdao Mou Technology Service Co., Ltd.". Without obtaining pesticide production and operation licenses, they provided labels and designs to Wang Moumou, entrusting him to produce counterfeit pesticides, which were then sold nationwide via the internet. Wang Moumou used a rented private house as a processing den, and without obtaining a pesticide registration certificate and relevant pesticide production and operation licenses, organized workers to produce counterfeit pesticides and sold them to Zhang Moumou and Huo Moumou. As of May 2019, Zhang Moumou and Huo Moumou had produced and sold over 7.71 million yuan worth of counterfeit pesticides, and Wang Moumou had produced and sold over 3.33 million yuan worth of counterfeit pesticides. According to tests by the Pesticide Quality Supervision and Inspection Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (Jinan), all finished pesticides seized at the processing den were substandard.

【Litigation Process】

Tools and raw materials for processing fake pesticides seized at the scene

On March 17, 2020, the Chengyang District People's Procuratorate of Qingdao City, Shandong Province, initiated a public prosecution against Zhang Moumou and two others for the crime of producing and selling counterfeit products. On February 8, 2021, the Chengyang District People's Court of Qingdao City delivered a first-instance judgment, sentencing defendants Zhang Moumou, Huo Moumou, and Wang Moumou to fifteen years in prison for the crime of producing and selling counterfeit products, along with fines ranging from RMB 1 million to 3 million yuan. After the first-instance judgment, the three defendants filed appeals. On April 28, 2021, the Qingdao Intermediate People's Court ruled to reject the appeals and uphold the original judgment, which has since become effective.

【Typical Significance】

(I) Severely punish crimes involving the production and sale of counterfeit pesticides to effectively ensure food security and protect farmers' rights. Illegal and criminal activities involving the production and sale of counterfeit pesticides jeopardize food security and harm farmers' interests, thus requiring severe punishment. In this case, the counterfeit pesticides were sold to multiple provinces and cities nationwide, with large sales volumes and extensive reach. The criminal acts involved the entire process from raw material procurement and fake agricultural material production to nationwide sales. All three defendants were sentenced to fifteen years in prison, effectively cracking down on crimes involving the production and sale of counterfeit pesticides, deterring potential lawbreakers, and safeguarding food security.

(II) Strengthen guidance for investigation and accurately identify counterfeit pesticides. Article 44 of the "Regulations on Pesticide Administration" stipulates that pesticides produced without obtaining a pesticide registration certificate in accordance with the law shall be treated as counterfeit pesticides. In this case, the procuratorial organs did not solely rely on the lack of production qualifications as the identification standard, but rather requested public security organs to focus on collecting evidence regarding the actual effects of the seized pesticides and whether they met pesticide standards. Through guided investigation, the public security organs found multiple actual users who had purchased the pesticides, confirming that the pesticides bought from the defendants had poor effects; they also entrusted testing agencies to inspect the pesticides seized at the scene, which confirmed they were all substandard pesticides. Ultimately, the procuratorial organs comprehensively determined the pesticides involved in the case to be counterfeit pesticides based on the inspection reports and the testimonies of the actual pesticide users.

(3) Accurately determining the amount of the defendant's crime and effectively accusing the crime. In this case, the substandard pesticides were sold through the Internet, involving nearly a thousand buyers across the country. It is unrealistic for the public security organs to visit each buyer to collect evidence. Based on the 19 handwritten account books seized by the public security organs from Zhang Moumou, and the transaction details of the 7 bank accounts retrieved, the procuratorial organs compared the nearly 2,000 sales information compiled one by one with the 5-year transaction flow of the bank accounts involved in the case to confirm the amount of the crime committed by Zhang Moumou and Huo Moumou; and based on Zhang Moumou's explanation of his accounting habits and commonly used symbols, by comparing the account book records with the transaction flow of Wang Moumou's bank account, the amount of Wang Moumou's crime was identified, and finally the amount of the crime was accurately determined, effectively accusing the crime.

【Keywords】

Crime of Producing and Selling Inferior Products Fake Veterinary Drugs Whole-Chain Strike Sales Amount Connection Between Prosecution and Punishment

【Basic Case Information】

From 2017 to 2020, Yi Moumou, without obtaining a veterinary drug production license, purchased equipment and raw materials on his own initiative, rented a warehouse, and used stone powder, wood powder, malt paste, etc., which did not contain drug ingredients, as raw materials to produce a large number of veterinary drug tablets claiming to treat "chicken plague," and sold them through WeChat, with sales amounting to more than 390,000 yuan.

Wu Moujia, Wu Mouyi, and Hu Moumou, without obtaining a veterinary drug production license, rented houses separately, used veterinary drug tablets purchased from Yi Moumou or veterinary drug powders produced by themselves using stone powder, wood powder, etc., which did not contain drug ingredients, and packaged them into counterfeit regular veterinary drug packaging bags printed and provided by Ding Moumou and Zhang Mou, etc., impersonating regular veterinary drugs, and sold them through logistics to various parts of the country. Liu Moumou knew that the veterinary drugs sold by Wu Moujia were not regular veterinary drugs, but still purchased and sold them. During this period, Wu Moujia produced and sold fake veterinary drugs worth more than 330,000 yuan, Wu Mouyi produced and sold fake veterinary drugs worth more than 140,000 yuan, Hu Moumou produced and sold fake veterinary drugs worth more than 80,000 yuan, and Liu Moumou purchased fake veterinary drugs worth more than 150,000 yuan, all of which were sold at a higher price.

The veterinary drugs involved include more than 40 kinds of veterinary drugs used to treat various diseases of livestock and poultry such as pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, and geese, including veterinary prescription drugs such as "Enrofloxacin," "Florfenicol," "Cephalexin," and "Mother and Child Safety." According to the Shanghai Veterinary Drug Testing Institute, no effective veterinary drug ingredients were detected in the veterinary drugs produced and sold by Yi Moumou, Wu Moujia, etc. According to the Shanghai Municipal Agriculture and Rural Committee, the veterinary drugs involved were all fake veterinary drugs that impersonated veterinary drugs with non-veterinary drugs.

【Litigation Process】

The Task Force Investigated the Case

On October 28 and November 10, 2020, the Third Branch of the Shanghai Municipal People's Procuratorate and the Shanghai Railway Transportation Procuratorate respectively filed public prosecutions against Yi Moumou and Wu Moujia, Wu Mouyi, and 6 others. All defendants pleaded guilty and accepted punishment. On December 10, 2020, the Shanghai Third Intermediate People's Court made a first-instance judgment, and the defendant Yi Moumou was convicted of the crime of producing and selling inferior products and sentenced to three years and six months in prison, and fined 200,000 yuan. On December 18, 2020, the Shanghai Railway Transportation Court made a first-instance judgment, and the defendants Wu Moujia, Wu Mouyi, and 5 others were convicted of the crime of producing and selling inferior products, and Liu Moumou was convicted of the crime of selling inferior products, and were sentenced to two years and six months to ten months in prison, and fined 167,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan. After the announcement of the judgment, none of the 7 defendants appealed, and the judgment has taken effect.

【Typical Significance】

(1) Adhering to the substantial identification of fake veterinary drugs and revealing the social harmfulness of the crime. Fake veterinary drugs not only cannot treat and prevent animal diseases, but may also lead to the spread of diseases among animals due to untimely control of the epidemic, causing huge economic losses to farmers, and the consumption of diseased animals by humans is also likely to cause food safety risks. In this case, the procuratorial organs and the agricultural administrative authorities, through scientific judgment, accurately identified "fake veterinary drugs." The procuratorial organs mastered the production process of the veterinary drugs involved through questioning the defendants, and requested the public security organs to entrust testing institutions to test the veterinary drugs involved, confirming that the veterinary drug tablets and powders did not contain any effective veterinary drug ingredients, thus revealing the harmfulness of fake veterinary drugs. By legally punishing crimes, resolutely preventing fake veterinary drugs from entering the market, and maximizing the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of farmers and ensuring food safety.

(2) Actively guiding investigation and evidence collection, and accurately determining the sales amount. For the veterinary drugs involved, it is impossible to determine that the production has suffered significant losses, which does not constitute the crime of producing and selling inferior veterinary drugs, but if the sales amount exceeds 50,000 yuan, according to the provisions of Article 149, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Law, it should be convicted and punished according to the provisions of Article 140 of the Criminal Law for the crime of producing and selling inferior products. In this case, each criminal actor produced fake veterinary drugs for a long time and sold them to various parts of the country through WeChat. The calculation of the sales amount is a difficult point in the case review. During the review process, the procuratorial organs guided the public security organs to conduct electronic data investigation on the seized mobile phones, and at the same time actively carried out self-supplementary investigations, sorting out the sales amount of the fake veterinary drugs involved from a large number of WeChat chat records and account transaction details, item by item. Finally, the total sales amount of Yi Moumou was increased from more than 190,000 yuan at the beginning of the case to more than 390,000 yuan, accurately determining the sales amount of fake veterinary drugs in this case, and reasonably proposing sentencing suggestions to ensure that the punishment fits the crime.

(3) Strengthening the connection between prosecution and punishment, and comprehensively combating the crime of producing and selling fake veterinary drugs. The Third Branch of the Shanghai Municipal People's Procuratorate and the Shanghai Railway Transportation Procuratorate jointly administer cases endangering agricultural resources security throughout the city. Through on-site business training, typical case reviews, and special research and visits, they have formed a long-term and stable cooperative relationship with the municipal and district agricultural administrative organs and public security organs. In the process of handling specific cases, they always pay attention to improving the efficiency of the connection between prosecution and punishment. In this case, for the whole-chain criminal gang that produces and distributes upstream, sells downstream, and knowingly provides counterfeit regular product packaging materials for fake veterinary drugs, the Shanghai procuratorial organs at two levels actively cooperated with agricultural and public security organs in clues analysis, testing and identification of fake pesticides, and guiding investigation and evidence collection, ultimately achieving a comprehensive crackdown on the crime chain, destroying the source of fake production and sales, and fully ensuring the safety of agricultural resources. At the same time, the procuratorial organs explained the law through cases, and carried out legal publicity through procuratorial officers' explanations, the production of publicity brochures, and the shooting of publicity films, revealing the harm of fake veterinary drugs to farmers and popularizing the skills of distinguishing between genuine and fake veterinary drugs.

【Keywords】

Crime of Selling Inferior Seeds Inferior Seeds Loss Appraisal Compensation to Victims

【Basic Case Information】

In March 2017, after the defendant Liu Moumou purchased 32 tons of ordinary potatoes from a city in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, he impersonated "Yan Shu No. 4" potato seeds and sold them to Zhang Moumou and others in Fuyu City, Jilin Province, resulting in reduced production that year. According to the field identification by the Fuyu City Agricultural Comprehensive Law Enforcement Brigade and the Fuyu City Price Certification Center, the total loss of Zhang Moumou and others amounted to more than 250,000 yuan.

【Litigation Process】

On January 17, 2019, the Fuyu City Public Security Bureau of Jilin Province concluded its investigation into the case and transferred it to the Fuyu City People's Procuratorate for prosecution. During the review and prosecution period, Liu Moumou pleaded guilty and accepted punishment. On April 6, 2019, the Fuyu City People's Procuratorate initiated public prosecution against Liu Moumou for the crime of selling counterfeit or substandard seeds. On May 24, 2019, the Fuyu City People's Court rendered a first-instance judgment, finding the defendant Liu Moumou guilty of selling counterfeit or substandard seeds. In view of his active compensation to the victims and signs of repentance, a lenient punishment was deemed appropriate, sentencing him to three years of imprisonment, suspended for five years, and a fine of RMB 30,000. After the judgment, Liu Moumou did not appeal, and the judgment has taken effect.

【Typical Significance】

(1) Crimes involving seeds endanger the source of food security and must be severely cracked down upon according to law. Food security is an important foundation of national security, and ensuring food security is fundamental to China's stable economic and social development. Seed industry security is related to food security and the sustainable development of agriculture. The act of selling counterfeit or substandard seeds seriously endangers food security and harms the legitimate interests of farmers. Prosecutorial organs, by promptly and accurately cracking down on such crimes in accordance with the law, fully guarantee food security and protect farmers' rights and interests. During the review and prosecution period, the prosecutorial organ returned the case to the public security organ for supplementary investigation, requesting clarification of the source of the counterfeit or substandard seeds, the transaction price, obtaining testimony from upstream sellers, and explaining the appraisal methods, thereby laying the foundation for accurately determining the facts of the crime according to law.

(2) Maximally protect farmers' interests during the performance of prosecutorial duties. Crop income is the main source of income for ordinary farming households. More than ten victimized farming households were involved in this case, causing a significant local impact. After field appraisals by administrative law enforcement departments, the average yield loss per hectare was calculated. Based on the appraised yield loss and average market price, the Fuyu City Price Certification Center assessed the value of the farmers' losses. While cracking down on crime, the prosecutorial organ actively helped the victimized farmers recover their losses. During the review of arrests, case handlers visited each victimized household to understand the situation and urged the suspect to provide compensation. Through communication and coordination, the suspect compensated all victimized farming households and gained their understanding. This not only saved farmers from economic hardship but also effectively repaired damaged rural social relations.

(3) Farmer consumers should pay attention to distinguishing authenticity and beware of purchasing counterfeit or substandard seeds. 'Plant a grain in spring, harvest ten thousand in autumn.' The quality of seeds determines a year's harvest. According to the 'Seed Law of the People's Republic of China,' seeds that are impersonated by non-seeds are considered fake seeds. The seeds involved in this case were ordinary potatoes passed off as seeds and should be identified as fake seeds. When purchasing seeds, farmers should be careful to buy through legitimate channels and differentiate based on packaging. Regular seed packaging should have basic information such as brand identity, seed category, variety name, variety approval or registration number, and seed production and operation license number. Farmers should enhance their awareness and ability to protect their rights, develop the habit of requesting invoices or other consumption vouchers, retain relevant evidence, and, if they discover they have purchased counterfeit or substandard seeds, promptly complain to local agricultural and market regulatory departments or report to the police if a crime is suspected.