Matters

Software company executive accused of supplying intrusion tools

No prosecution · Everyone detained released · Company and personal assets unfrozen

A wholly owned subsidiary of a well-known Chinese internet company was investigated over its cloud-phone software. Nearly all of its senior executives were detained, large sums belonging to the company and its staff were frozen, and some expert reports described the software as a "destructive program."

Mr. Yin defended one of the technology executives, working with the wider defense team:

• Challenged the technical characterization, showing that software capable of running third-party scripts is not, for that reason, a tool for intruding into or controlling computer systems;
• Challenged the expert evidence, pointing to unclear sources of test samples, inadequate testing and conclusions drawn from source-code keywords, and relying on another expert report that found no intrusion, control or damage;
• Separated his client's role from the business as a whole: the client developed only the base operating system and had no part in the scripts, operations or sales;
• Kept up procedural pressure through a jurisdictional objection, repeated requests for review of the need for detention and ongoing engagement with the prosecutors.

Outcome: Following the defense, the prosecutors decided not to prosecute his client. The case as a whole ended without prosecution; everyone detained was released and the assets were unfrozen.

Manager accused of embezzlement and misappropriation of company funds

Released on bail after criminal detention · No prosecution

Following a complaint by a large company, the client was placed in criminal detention. Mr. Yin traced the ownership, authorization and movement of each disputed payment and the client's actual purpose, drawing the line between a corporate dispute over funds and individual criminal liability. He secured the client's release on bail and continued the defense at the prosecution review stage.

Outcome: The prosecutors decided not to prosecute.

Individual accused of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble"

No prosecution

The allegation arose from a personal dispute. Mr. Yin examined how the dispute began and developed, cross-checked witness accounts against the objective evidence, and argued that the facts were unclear and the conduct did not amount to a crime.

Outcome: The prosecutors decided not to prosecute.

Individual detained on shifting charges

Arrest not approved · Case went no further

The client was detained on one charge, which was later changed to illegal business operations. Mr. Yin tested the client's conduct against the elements of both the original and the new charge and submitted several written opinions arguing that no crime had been committed and that arrest should not be approved.

Outcome: The prosecutors refused to approve arrest, and the case went no further.

Employee detained in an illegal fundraising investigation

Arrest not approved · Not referred for prosecution

Mr. Yin analyzed the client's position, actual involvement and understanding of the business model, and argued that the conditions for arrest were not met.

Outcome: Arrest was not approved. The police later referred other suspects for prosecution, but not the client.

Manager accused of embezzlement and commercial bribery

Released on bail during the investigation

The client faced two separate charges. Mr. Yin examined the client's authority, the source and nature of the payments and their connection to the client's duties, separated the facts underlying each charge, and argued against continued detention.

Outcome: The client was released on bail during the investigation.

Fraud case: amount reduced from nearly RMB 4 million to RMB 350,000

Amount reduced below the ten-year threshold · Sentence of three years and one month

Under Chinese law, fraud of RMB 500,000 or more is "especially large" and carries a sentence of at least ten years. At the outset the amount alleged was nearly RMB 4 million; even the RMB 550,000 later charged would have exposed the client to ten years or more.

Mr. Yin checked every transaction, payment and supporting document, and challenged each amount that was unsupported by evidence or should not have been counted:

• Prosecution review: the amount charged fell from nearly RMB 4 million to RMB 550,000;
• Trial: a further RMB 200,000 was excluded, leaving RMB 350,000, below the ten-year threshold;
• Sentencing: he also secured important mitigating factors.

Outcome: The client was sentenced to three years and one month, close to the bottom of the applicable range.

Two gambling-related cases: suspended sentences after arrest

Arrest already approved · Suspended sentences

In two separate cases of alleged operation of gambling businesses, the clients had already been arrested. Mr. Yin analyzed each client's role, level of involvement and the amounts attributable to them, separated individual responsibility from the case as a whole, and argued for suspended sentences.

Outcome: In both cases the court imposed a suspended sentence, and neither client served time in prison.

Toy wholesaler convicted of illegally trading firearms

Ten years at first instance and on appeal · Sentence reduced below the statutory minimum on retrial · Approved by the Supreme People's Court · No further time to serve

The client ran a toy wholesale business and sold a small number of toy guns, some of which were classified as firearms. Under the rules then in force, this carried a minimum sentence of ten years, and both the first-instance and appeal courts imposed exactly that. With the minimum already imposed, ordinary mitigating factors could not change the result.

On retrial, Mr. Yin and his co-counsel:

• Re-examined the whole record, comparing statements, shipping documents and the models and quantities of the items, and questioning the evidence of where the items came from;
• Challenged the expert evidence, including the legal basis and status of the firearm classification standard and the conduct of the examination;
• Argued independently that criminal intent was not proven: open shipping under real names, prices, materials and projectiles showed at most an awareness of breaching administrative rules on replica guns, not knowledge of trading in firearms;
• Presented the defense in person to the judges hearing the case and submitted four comparable cases from other courts;
• Raised new evidence at the review stage: delivery lists recovered by the client matched ordinary toys item by item.

Outcome: The client was released on bail after more than seven years in custody. The retrial court upheld the conviction but reduced the sentence to exactly the time already served. Because the sentence was below the statutory minimum, it required and received the approval of the Supreme People's Court. The client had no further time to serve.

Company held liable as guarantor under a forged seal

Final judgment and rejected retrial application · Prosecutorial supervision · Judgment overturned on retrial · Spending restrictions lifted

A final judgment had held a company jointly liable as guarantor for a bank loan of about RMB 4 million plus interest. Its retrial application had been rejected, enforcement had begun, and its legal representative was subject to restrictions on high spending. The company had reported the forged seal to the police, but the criminal case had not progressed.

Mr. Yin focused on one question: did the company actually give this guarantee? Building on an expert finding that the seal on the guarantee did not match the company's seal, he gathered evidence on seal registration, the company's actual use of seals, the source of any authority and the shareholders' knowledge. He then represented the company at three stages:

• Prosecutorial supervision: persuaded the procuratorate to recommend a retrial;
• Retrial review: answered the court's specific questions with further evidence, including police investigation materials, and obtained an order for retrial;
• Retrial: argued that a company cannot be bound merely by the appearance of documents and that the bank's own diligence had to be judged on the evidence.

He also worked on the enforcement side to have the restrictions on the legal representative lifted.

Outcome: The court overturned the original judgment and dismissed the claims against the company. The judgment is final, and the restrictions on the legal representative were lifted.

Contract fraud against a company

Defendant convicted of contract fraud

After the victim company reported the fraud to the police, Mr. Yin represented it at prosecution review and trial. He organized the evidence on how the contract was formed, performed, paid for and delivered, and made submissions on the characterization of the offense, the amount involved, sentencing and restitution, while advising the company on how civil proceedings and enforcement could run alongside the criminal case.

Outcome: The court convicted the defendant of contract fraud.

Loan fraud against a company

Criminal complaint filed · Suspect detained · Funds recovered

Mr. Yin filed a criminal complaint for the victim company, set out the transactions, the flow of funds and the relationships between those involved, and provided leads on the suspect's assets. He also protected the company's civil rights.

Outcome: The suspect was placed in criminal detention and the case proceeded; the company recovered the funds.

Contract dispute with a foreign national living abroad

Service of process resolved · Termination confirmed · Principal refund claims granted

Performance of the contract had been disrupted by the pandemic. The parties had handed over the premises, but termination and settlement of payments remained unresolved, and the other party, a foreign national, lived outside China. Mr. Yin showed that the contract had been terminated by agreement and changed circumstances and that the deposit, unused rent and related fee reductions should be refunded. To overcome the difficulty of serving court documents abroad, he provided the court with details of the other party's representative in China and a legal opinion, which the court accepted, allowing the case to proceed to the merits.

Outcome: The court confirmed that the contract had been terminated and ordered the refund of the deposit, rent and related fees, granting the company's principal claims.