Chapter 70 Repayment

Wu Peng returned to the law firm and immediately started working on Jia Wenjun's sentence reduction.

Attorney Liu had made it clear to him that it was impossible to overturn the case under the circumstances. The only thing they could do now was try to get a reduced sentence.

Although Attorney Liu didn't know why Wu Peng was helping Jia Wenjun so much, he was very pleased with his growth during this time. He even became more concerned about Jia Wenjun's case.

According to relevant regulations, if a criminal confesses or exposes the crimes of others, provides important clues for solving other cases, prevents the criminal activities of others, or assists judicial organs in arresting other criminal suspects, and the criminal suspect or defendant may be sentenced to life imprisonment or more according to law, it should be recognized as a major meritorious service.

Jia Wenjun had previously provided information about drug dealers escaping on the Seashell, and the escaped fish was caught because of the clues she provided. Wu Peng sent the written certification materials of these major meritorious performances to the public security organs. Together with the content of Attorney Liu's confession to the public security organs, these could be used as a reference for the later sentencing results.

Jia Wenjun had been depressed for several days since learning that the police had found Zhao Di's clothes on her clothes. During these days, Wu Peng still came to see her every day or two, telling her about the progress of the case and the situation of those people outside related to the case.

From Wu Peng, Jia Wenjun learned that Anna's punishment would not be lighter than hers, that Lili's post had taken the life of Gong Dalong's daughter, and that Sun Jiaojiao had killed Gong Dalong.

She just listened to these things quietly. It could be said that these were all things she expected. Those people on the ship were all getting their just desserts, only the innocent little girl was pitiful.

But in this whole thing, how many innocent people were there other than the little girl?

She was tricked onto the ship as a pawn. The moment the ship left the port, she fell into an invisible net. She asked herself that she had always been kind to others and had never done anything harmful, so she couldn't figure out who would hate her so much that they wanted to kill her.

She was unwilling, unconvinced, and refused to accept her fate. She tried to prove herself again and again, but was knocked to the ground again and again by the person hiding in the dark.

Lying on the bunk, her tears kept pouring out in the darkness. She didn't know how long it took before she fell into a daze.

In her dream, she returned to the dark cabin of the Seashell. In that dark space with only one hole in the ceiling, she shrunk herself as small as possible, sitting on the stacked carpets. She was so sleepy that she couldn't hold on and fell asleep on them. But as she slept, the hull suddenly shook violently. Before she could react, she rolled off the carpets and fell into the seawater that had flooded into the cabin.

She struggled desperately, trying to stand up, but in the darkness, a pair of hands tightly strangled her neck, pressing her head into the water, not letting her get up.

She tried her best, but couldn't break free. Seeing that her oxygen was about to run out, she ignored everything and shouted desperately. Countless seawater poured into her mouth and nose. At the moment when she couldn't breathe, she finally woke up.

She couldn't count how many times she had woken up from her dream in a cold sweat. Even after being ashore for so long, she still woke up from nightmares in the middle of the night.

In her dream, she was still on that swaying ship. She was driven, slandered, and chased by those people. In the dark cabin, she didn't dare to relax her vigilance at any moment. She resisted desperately, but couldn't break free from the hands that pushed her into the vortex.

She was covered in sweat, sat up from the darkness, her heart and temples still throbbing.

Thinking of the things those people on the ship had done to her, although some people had already suffered the consequences, there were still people who had not learned their lesson.

She wiped away her tears and clenched her fists. Even if she couldn't get out, she would make those who had bullied her pay the price.

The next day, when Wu Peng came to see Jia Wenjun, he found that although her eyes were still dark, her face was haggard, and she looked like she hadn't slept well, there was light in her eyes. Jia Wenjun, who had ideas and goals, seemed to be back.

Wu Peng didn't know why she had suddenly changed, but it was a good thing that she was no longer blindly pessimistic.

He first told Jia Wenjun about the progress of the case outside in the past two days, told her that the meritorious service materials had been submitted, and then told her about the situation of Jia's father and mother.

Jia Wenjun listened to everything, then looked at Wu Peng: "Thank you for running around for me these days. I've thought about it. If I have to go to jail, there are still some things I want to trouble you with."

Wu Peng was stunned, knowing that these things were the reason why she suddenly had motivation.

"Tell me, I will definitely help you."

"You said before that the police confirmed that Lü Maowang stole Zhao Di's underwear on the ship. What kind of punishment will he receive?"

Wu Peng thought for a while: "This case hasn't been closed yet, and Zhao Di's body hasn't been found. Even if it is found, it can't be said that Lü Maowang's behavior has any direct relationship with Zhao Di's disappearance. So even if he is sentenced, it is estimated that he will not be sentenced heavily."

Jia Wenjun clenched her fists: "I told the police before that Lü Maowang tried to rape me in the dark cabin under the ship. Does his behavior constitute attempted rape?"

Wu Peng paused. She had told him about this before, and he had also reported it to the police, but at that time, Lü Maowang denied it in his confession, insisting that the two were in a relationship. And Jia Wenjun had no evidence to prove that Lü Maowang was indeed committing rape at the time. What made Jia Wenjun even more passive was that several people on the ship mentioned in their confessions that Lü Maowang had been pursuing Jia Wenjun, and the two were likely to be in a relationship that had not been made public.

At that time, Bai Ma Shan said in his confession that he went to stop Lü Maowang, but he was not clear about the relationship between the two, so this matter has not been specifically stated so far, and the police are still mainly investigating Zhao Di's disappearance.

Wu Peng looked at Jia Wenjun inside, imagining the dirty and nasty things she faced alone on the ship. He felt a little suffocated in his chest, but he still had to explain it to her carefully.

"There is no crime of attempted rape in our country's criminal law. Attempted rape is still rape. Attempt is an incomplete form of crime. Attempted crime refers to a situation where a criminal has already started to commit a crime, but fails due to reasons beyond his will. Our country's criminal law stipulates that those who commit the crime of rape shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 10 years. Attempted offenders shall be given a lighter or mitigated punishment than consummated offenders.

There are three characteristics in the determination of attempted rape: First, the perpetrator has already started to commit the crime, and if there is no external obstacle, it is possible to directly cause the occurrence of the criminal result. The second is that the crime has not been successful. The third is that the crime was unsuccessful due to reasons beyond the criminal's will. The above three characteristics must be present at the same time to be considered attempted rape. Lü Maowang has been emphasizing that he is in a relationship with you, and your denial is valid, but your biggest disadvantage is that you have no evidence. Bai Ma Shan's confession said that Lü Maowang was attacking you at the time instead of invading you, so it is still a bit difficult to convict Lü Maowang of rape."

Jia Wenjun thought of Lü Maowang's disgusting actions at the time. She suppressed her nausea and said, "He had already taken off his own pants before he could take off my clothes. I haven't washed that set of outerwear and pants on the ship. Can you please tell the police to take them for inspection, maybe residual DNA can be extracted from the clothes."

Wu Peng looked at her desperate expression. He suppressed his urge to hit someone and said to her: "Don't worry, I will do it today. Those who have bullied you will pay the price."