Lantana is a symbol of auspiciousness, beauty and happiness in the minds of the Yi people.
And a gentleman loves flowers, he should take them in the right way, don't want to take them for himself because of his own selfish desires, stealing flowers seems to be a trivial matter, but it will bring prison time. The following case shows you that you think you are taking advantage of a small advantage, but in fact you have touched on the criminal law.
Case review
During the month of 2020, without going through any formalities, Wang hired Luo and many others to go to the state-owned forest farm in Dayao County, and used root digging to steal 195 lantana trees, 97 fragrant trees, and 1 hairy leaf Qinggang tree to the mountains next to his pig farm for bag planting. It was determined that the 195 lantana trees involved in the case were worth 40,390 yuan, 97 fragrant trees were worth 1,055 yuan, and 1 hairy leaf green gang tree was worth 130 yuan.
During the trial of the case, the Dayao Court organized the plaintiff and the defendant to mediate on the attached civil public interest litigation, and the two parties voluntarily reached an agreement that Wang would compensate him for the cost of restoring forest vegetation for the 22 lantana trees that died after being stolen in the state-owned forest farm in Dayao County 13,47588 yuan (paid). After the execution of the civil mediation agreement attached to the criminal case was completed, the Dayao Court held after trial that Wang secretly stole 293 trees from state-owned forests and other people's owned forests for the purpose of illegal occupation, with a total value of 41,575 yuan, a huge amount, and his behavior constituted the crime of theft. The final sentence was three years in prison, suspended for four years, and fined 8,000 yuan.
What the judge said
In this case, the defendants used root digging without going through any formalities, which was a secret theft, and the defendants were all over the age of 16 and had the capacity for criminal responsibility, and secretly stole 293 trees from state-owned forests and other people's owned forests for the purpose of illegal occupation, with a total value of 41,575 yuan, a huge amount. His behavior constitutes the crime of theft, but does not constitute the crime of endangering national key protected plants.
The crime of endangering plants under national key protection refers to the act of illegally felling or destroying precious trees or other plants under national key protection, or illegally purchasing, transporting, processing, or purchasing precious trees or other plants under national key protection and their products in violation of national regulations.
Sentencing standards] Article 344 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China: Whoever violates state provisions by illegally felling or destroying precious trees or other plants under key state protection, or illegally purchasing, transporting, processing, or processing precious trees or other plants under key national protection and the products thereof, is sentenced to up to three years imprisonment, short-term detention or controlled release, and a concurrent fine; where the circumstances are serious, the sentence is between three and seven years imprisonment and a concurrent fine.
Wild plants are an important part of the natural ecosystem, an important material basis for human survival and social development, an important strategic resource of the country, and play an irreplaceable role in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem and promoting sustainable economic and social development. According to the relevant provisions of the Forest Law, the felling of trees must be carried out with a license and in accordance with the regulations. China implements a strict examination and approval permit system for the use of forest resources, and must apply for a forest felling permit before cutting down trees, and strictly follow the location, scope, quantity, tree species and method specified in the felling permit. Rare wild plants are the precious heritage of nature and human history and culture, containing rich historical and human resources, and also play an irreplaceable role in maintaining biodiversity, ecological balance and environmental protection.
Links to legal provisions
Paragraph 1 of Article 40 of the Forestry Regulations of Yunnan ProvinceIllegal transplantation of wild trees, by the forestry administrative departments at or above the county level ordered to stop the illegal acts, confiscation of transplanted trees; where there are unlawful gains, the unlawful gains are to be confiscated and a fine of between 1 and 3 times the amount of the unlawful gains is to be given; where there are no unlawful gains, a fine of between 500 and 3,000 RMB is to be given.
Article 23 of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Wild PlantsIf the collection certificate is not obtained or the wild plants under national key protection are not collected in accordance with the provisions of the collection certificate, the administrative department of wild plants shall confiscate the collected wild plants and illegal gains, and may impose a fine of less than 10 times the illegal gains; Where there is a collection permit, the collection permit may be revoked.
Article 264 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of ChinaTheft of public or private property, where the amount is relatively large, or where there are multiple thefts, burglary, theft with a weapon, or pickpocketing, are to be sentenced to up to three years imprisonment, short-term detention or controlled release, and/or a fine; where the amount is huge or there are other serious circumstances, a sentence of between 3 and 10 years imprisonment and a concurrent fine is to be given; where the amount is especially huge or there are other especially serious circumstances, a sentence of 10 or more years imprisonment or indefinite imprisonment is to be given, and a concurrent fine or confiscation of property.
Article 1229 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of ChinaWhere environmental pollution or ecological damage causes damage to others, the infringer shall bear tort liability.
Source: Dayao County Court.