Me! A disgraced celebrity! Starting by seeking justice for impoverished students.

As soon as the judge finished speaking, Jiang Chen stood up.

"Presiding Judge, Judges."

According to Article 168 of the Criminal Law, staff members of state-owned companies, enterprises, and institutions who cause significant losses to national interests due to gross negligence shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention; those who cause particularly serious losses to national interests shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years.

He paused, then looked up at the defendant's dock.

"Dongning Teachers College is a public university; the scholarship is funded by national fiscal funds."

"As the direct person in charge and main leader of the scholarship review work, the defendants Han Zhengming and Chen Yongchang failed to establish a transparent and fair review mechanism and failed to conduct substantive review of the application materials during the scholarship selection process, which led to Zhao Tianyu defrauding the state of scholarship funds by using false materials."

"This isn't a work error; this is blatant irresponsibility!"

"According to relevant judicial interpretations, defrauding the state of student aid funds, if the amount reaches a certain standard, constitutes causing significant losses to the national interests."

Jiang Chen's voice grew increasingly deep.

"This is the first charge: dereliction of duty!"

The courtroom was so quiet you could hear someone breathing.

The chat in the official live stream room started scrolling:

[Starting with criminal law right off the bat? Jiang Chen's going to beat me to death!]

[Negligence! If convicted of this, both the dean and the principal will be imprisoned!]

[Wait...wasn't he only supposed to handle civil cases? How did he end up in criminal custody?]

[It's a civil case with an attached criminal case! Didn't we already say it would be tried together?]

[This is what you call a true game-changer! While the other side is probably thinking about how to pay compensation, Jiang Chen is already planning how to send them to jail!]

Jiang Chen continued speaking.

"The second charge is the crime of illegally restricting personal freedom."

According to Article 238 of the Criminal Law, anyone who illegally detains another person or illegally deprives another person of their personal freedom by other means shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, public surveillance, or deprivation of political rights.

"Those who commit acts of assault or insult will be punished more severely!"

His gaze fell on Zhou Haibo.

"The defendant, Zhou Haibo, under the pretext of isolation, confined the plaintiff, Lin Xuyang, in a medical room cubicle for nearly twelve hours."

"During this period, they confiscated communication devices, locked the door, refused to provide food or drink, and threatened to fire or discipline the victim."

"This isn't educational management; this is illegal detention!"

"Defendants Han Zhengming and Chen Yongchang, as superiors, were aware of, acquiesced to, and condoned this behavior, and therefore bear joint responsibility!"

After Jiang Chen finished speaking, his eyes sharpened.

"The two criminal charges above, together with our previous civil claim for damages, constitute a complete litigation system."

"The defendant's actions were not an accidental work error, but a systematic and organized confrontation with national policy, a deprivation of the rights of impoverished students, and a trampling of the bottom line of the law!"

"We request the court to pursue the criminal and civil liabilities of the four defendants in accordance with the law!"

After saying this, Jiang Chen sat down.

The courtroom was silent for a good few seconds.

Then, a commotion arose in the gallery.

The chat in the official live stream exploded:

Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! This statement is incredible!

[Negligence and illegal detention—this is a sentence that could easily go several years!]

I counted: the maximum sentence for dereliction of duty is seven years, and the maximum sentence for illegal detention is three years. Adding them together...

[It's not a simple addition, but if both charges are upheld, the minimum sentence is at least three years!]

[Jiang Chen is really trying to get both the principal and the dean imprisoned!]

In the dock, Zhou Haibo's face was as white as paper.

His lips were trembling, and his fingers were shaking incessantly under the table.

Han Zhengming could no longer maintain his composure; his lips twitched slightly, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

Principal Chen Yongchang sat there, his eyes vacant.

His shoulders were slumped and his back was slightly hunched, as if he had suddenly aged ten years.

Zhao Tianyu never looked up from beginning to end, his hands clenched so tightly under the table that his knuckles turned white.

Fang Yuan took a deep breath and raised his hand.

"presiding judge."

Judge Zhang Zhengyang looked at him: "Defendant's representative, please speak."

"We object to the criminal charges brought by the plaintiff."

Please state your position.

Fang Yuan stood up, his expression gradually becoming serious.

It's his turn!

"Presiding Judge, Judges."

"The plaintiff's charge of dereliction of duty lacks factual basis."

"The selection process for student grants at Dongning Teachers College has been carried out in accordance with the regulations of the education authorities for many years."

"During this year's selection process, there were indeed a few instances of lax review of application materials, but this was a work error, not serious irresponsibility!"

"There is a fundamental difference between work-related errors and criminal offenses!"

As he spoke, he opened a document.

"Furthermore, we do not agree with the plaintiff's claim of widespread injustice. According to the scholarship evaluation data provided by the school for the past three years, the proportion of students from registered impoverished families receiving assistance has consistently remained above 90%. Individual cases cannot represent the whole situation!"

"As for illegally restricting personal freedom..."

Fang Yuan paused, his expression gradually relaxing.

"The school has a responsibility to provide necessary comfort and observation to students who are emotionally unstable; this is within the proper scope of educational management."

"The plaintiff's characterization of it as illegal detention is a misinterpretation of the school's normal management practices."

"We request the court to dismiss the plaintiff's criminal charges!"

The presiding judge nodded but did not comment.

Fang Yuan did not sit down.

He glanced at Jiang Chen, then took out a document from his briefcase.

"Your Honor, we also have evidence to present."

Jiang Chen's brow twitched slightly.

Fang Yuan held up the materials in his hand, his tone calm.

"This is a report on the selection of student financial aid for Dongning Normal College over the past three years, as well as the annual assessment opinions of the Provincial Department of Education on the school's financial aid work. For three consecutive years, the school's work on financial aid for students from impoverished families has been rated as excellent."

He began to present documents one by one.

"These are the meeting minutes of the school's financial aid review committee, proving that the adjustment of this year's financial aid quota went through the normal review process."

"This is counselor Zhou Haibo's personal work log, which records Lin Xuyang's emotional state on the day of the incident. He was emotionally agitated, spoke irritably, and showed signs of self-harm. This is why the school decided to let him rest in the infirmary temporarily!"

After Fang Yuan finished reading, his gaze swept over the plaintiff's seat.

"The plaintiff claims that the school deceived the inspection team and defied national policies."

"I ask you, would a school that has been rated as excellent by the province for three consecutive years do such a thing?"

"The plaintiff claims Zhou Haibo illegally detained students. But let me ask you this: can a temporary measure taken to protect student safety be called illegal detention?"

To be fair, from a legal perspective, Fang Yuan's response was quite brilliant.

Although there was an element of sophistry involved, he accepted Jiang Chen's questioning and even launched a counterattack!

As a well-known lawyer in the industry, he wouldn't be so easily defeated!

"We present the above evidence to prove that the scholarship selection process at Dongning Teachers College is, on the whole, compliant, transparent, and can withstand scrutiny!"

"Flaws in a few steps cannot negate the entire process!"

"The plaintiff's allegations are based on the amplification of individual cases and lack sufficient supporting evidence."

"We request the court to dismiss all of the plaintiff's claims and to investigate the fraudulent litigation activities of the plaintiff's agent, Jiang Chen!"