In 2012, Xiamen man Li bought a 4cm long gun shaped key ring from abroad through the Internet, and commissioned others to imitate and sell it. On July 31, 2018, Li was arrested by Tiexi Branch of Anshan Public Security Bureau of Liaoning Province for suspected illegal trading of guns. Recently, the first instance of the "gun shaped Keychain" case was held. After three days of trial, the court did not announce the verdict. How to identify the standard of gun identification?

Recently, the case of "gun shaped Keychain" opened, and the gun identification standard has aroused heated discussion again

05:01

From China Youth Network

"Gun shaped Keychain" case opened recently

Arouse social concern

On December 15 this year, the first instance of the case of "gun shaped Keychain" was held in Anshan intermediate people's Court of Liaoning Province. The trial focused on the procedures and details of gun identification, and the standards of gun identification. According to Li's confession read out in the court trial, in 2012, he bought a gun shaped key ring pendant abroad through the Internet, and from 2013, he commissioned his business partner Xu Jianghua to copy and produce the purchased key ring as a prototype.

On December 15, 2020, Anshan intermediate people's Court opened the scene of the trial (photo source: video capture of China trial open website)

On July 31, 2018, Li was taken away from his home in Fujian by Liaoning Anshan police. According to the detention notice received by his family, he was detained by Tiexi Branch of Liaoning Anshan Public Security Bureau for the crime of illegal trading of guns. Ms. Chen, Li's wife, said that they were selling Mini gun shaped Keychains, which were 4cm long and about half of the middle finger. They were mainly used for collection and sold for hundreds of yuan. No injury had happened before.

Li's wife: although it has firing function, we don't make gunpowder, ammunition and so on. It's just a collection of key chain pendant for sale.

The picture shows the manufacture and sale of gun key chain, which is 4cm in length

Ms. Chen said that at the end of August 2015, the local police had inspected the key ring and did not question the sale of the key ring.

Li's wife: in Xiamen before, the police station and the Public Security Bureau checked this thing. It was originally used as a key ring pendant for collection. I didn't say this thing couldn't be sold. The composition of the so-called "gunpowder" of the ammunition is the same as that of the match head.

Attorney for the client:

Whether the gun type in this case can be called a gun is worth discussing

Yang Weihua, the lawyer for the client, said that the reason why the client was taken away by Liaoning police in Fujian at that time was that the "gun shaped Keychain" sold on the Internet was discovered by Liaoning internet police.

Lawyer Yang Weihua said that although according to the identification materials of the public security department for the "gun shaped Keychain", the muzzle specific kinetic energy of the gun shaped Keychain reaches the identification standard of 1.8 joules per square meter, how big a gun can be called a gun? The diameter of the key ring is only 4cm, which is impossible to grasp. The identification standard of the gun should be changed when it adapts to the specific circumstances of the case.

Lawyer Yang Weihua: in recent years, the simulation gun has caused a lot of social disputes. The focus of the dispute is whether the 1.8 (muzzle specific kinetic energy) standard is reasonable? In this case, it involves the question of how big this gun is, which can be called a gun.

The total length of the gun involved in this case is only four centimeters, and the bullet is less than two millimeters. It is worth discussing whether it can be called a gun and whether it can mechanically adapt to the standard of 1.8 (muzzle specific kinetic energy).

Chen Liang, a lawyer from Guangdong Province who has represented several gun related cases, said in an interview that the Ministry of public security's "criteria for court scientific appraisal of the injuring force of guns" stipulates that the caliber of guns should be less than 20 mm, but there is no clear legal provision on how many mm the caliber of guns should be greater than.

The picture shows the lawyer's claim that the gun shaped key chain needs to be disassembled to load the projectile

Lawyer Yang Weihua said that the muzzle specific kinetic energy data is another key point in gun identification.

Lawyer Yang Weihua: another issue worth discussing is whether the calculation standard of muzzle specific kinetic energy is scientific.

It is understood that this data can directly reflect the lethality of guns. In order to measure it, it is necessary to shoot the projectile horizontally at the test target 50 cm away from the muzzle, so as to calculate the ratio of the kinetic energy of the projectile to its maximum cross-sectional area. During the trial, the appraisers said that because the key ring of the gun involved in the case was too small to be tested on the launcher of the dangerous gun, the handheld method was used to test the specific kinetic energy of the muzzle.

Yang Weihua believes that this test method does not comply with the law and identification procedures, which will lead to a large error in the measured muzzle specific kinetic energy. "Because the total length of the key chain is only 4cm, the shaking of the hand is likely to move the key chain position, which can not ensure that the distance between the gun and the test target is exactly 50cm, and the gun is not in a horizontal shooting state." Due to the above disputes, Yang Weihua and other lawyers at the scene of the trial repeatedly applied for re identification.

Qiao Feng, a lawyer, has represented gun related cases for many times. He thinks that the key to evaluate the case is whether the gun shaped Keychain sold by Li is harmful enough to cause death or injury.

Lawyer Qiao Feng: only when two standards and one result are met can the criminal responsibility of gun related crimes be investigated. The two criteria are 1.8 joules (muzzle specific kinetic energy) and the condition that the emitter can cause death or disability. One result is that the user causes other people's death or injury, or the manufacturer violates laws and regulations to produce military or civilian guns.

Lawyer Qiao Feng believes that in practice, the standards for the identification of guns by investigation organs still need to be further clarified and standardized.

Lawyer Qiao Feng: at present, the concept, standard, appraisal procedure, appraisal basis, prosecution and sentencing of guns involved in gun cases in some cities are in a state of confusion.

It is understood that Anshan intermediate people's Court of Liaoning province did not pronounce a judgment on the case of "gun shaped Keychain".