Too Bad I Take Things Seriously-Chapter 467 - 199 Meng Lei: I Want to Borrow Some More Money_4

"If I could find someone else... I wouldn’t have come to you."

Meng Lei forced a bitter smile, his complexion growing uglier by the moment. He was on the verge of tears.

House, car, savings—all told, they amounted to more than two million. Yet, he couldn’t even afford the litigation fee for a lawsuit.

Before long, the recess was over.

The Judgment Chief, with the members of the collegial panel, re-entered the courtroom.

"All rise!" the clerk announced aloud.

The gavel struck.

The Judgment Chief looked over the crowd and declared solemnly, "After a public trial lasting four hours, the Yangcheng First Criminal Trial Court has carefully examined Meng Lei’s suspected fraud case to understand the details and confirm the factual evidence. During his college period..."

"The facts of this case are clear. Meng Lei borrowed money and refused to return it. He illegally possessed another’s property, exhibited deceitful behavior, violated Article 266 of the Criminal Law, and thereby committed fraud."

"However, as this is a private prosecution, some loan and billing evidence is questionable, and the chain of evidence is incomplete. Therefore, there is currently an insufficient basis for sentencing."

"The verdict will not be announced at this time. The public security authorities will subsequently supplement the evidence and clarify the incident’s details, after which a judgment will be rendered."

The solemn voice echoed in the courtroom.

As soon as the words fell, Ma Ming, in the plaintiff’s seat, was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding the meaning of the judgment. He couldn’t help but look towards Shi Liangping and asked, "This judgment... does it mean he was convicted or not?"

The verdict merely acknowledged Meng Lei’s behavior as constituting suspected fraud. But... it dismissed some of their evidence. It cited doubts in the case. The judgment was deferred.

"It’s possibly because some of the evidence involves cash loans or transfer loans that don’t have sufficient evidential strength..." Shi Liangping thought for a moment and analyzed seriously. He concluded that since the evidence was questionable and unclear, the court had only acknowledged the fraudulent behavior but had not pronounced a judgment.

Meanwhile, in the defendant’s seat, Meng Lei, anxious and confused, also failed to comprehend. He couldn’t help but turn to the legal aid lawyer beside him.

He asked, "If the evidence is insufficient, does that mean I won’t have to go to jail?"

However, the legal aid lawyer, just past his probation, looked back at him, his eyes even more bewildered than Meng Lei’s.

「At the same time.」

In Jin City, at the nursing home, Zhang Qingyuan and others also heard the judgment.

"What does this mean? He’s convicted, but not fully?"

"The court has determined he committed fraud, but there’s insufficient evidence? How can there be a conviction of fraud without sufficient evidence?"

"So does this mean Meng Lei has to go to jail?"

"I for one don’t get it. Qin, why don’t you explain it to everyone?"

"..."

Everyone was perplexed by this outcome. This verdict was unlike any before. Not even the penalties were announced.

Thus, laden with confusion, everyone, including Wan Zhongyuan, turned to look at Qin Mu.

Among the crowd, Qin Mu considered for a moment and then explained, "Private prosecution cases are quite complex, and evidence collected privately is bound to have some problems."

The trial process for criminal private prosecution cases is actually the same as for public prosecution cases. After the trial, verdicts can be pronounced. Those who should go to jail will go to jail, and those who should be fined will be fined. But there is one major difference between the two: the problem of the chain of evidence required for conviction in private prosecution cases.

The evidence Shi Liangping compiled was obtained through private investigation. While it’s more than enough for a civil lawsuit, in a criminal private prosecution, it might be deemed insufficient or lacking foundation. This necessitates cooperation from prosecutorial and public security authorities to investigate and gather further evidence. After all, private investigations can’t access internal data from third-party platforms.

Therefore, the public security authorities need to collect and complete the evidence based on this court’s decision, pending the next hearing.

As for whether Meng Lei will go to jail... that’s a certainty. A criminal offense has been established, so detention is mandatory.