Original title: Pay off the arrears of wages before the lawsuit, and the contractor gets a light sentence (topic).
Tonglu, Zhejiang: The procuratorate put forward a lighter sentencing recommendation (subtopic) in accordance with law in light of the actual circumstances of the case
Procuratorate ** News (reporter Fan Yuehong, correspondent Yu Xiaoya) Due to several waves of cold waves, the winter of 2023 will be much colder than in previous years. Thanks to the efforts of the Tonglu County Procuratorate in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, 10 workers, including welder Zhao Wei (pseudonym) and plumber Lu Yang (pseudonym), felt warm this winter – they finally got the wages owed by the contractor for nearly a year.
In June 2022, a labor service project in Foping County, Shaanxi Province undertook the renovation project of a township tourism complex reception center in Tonglu County, and the actual person in charge of the project was Wang, and the project was suspended in November of that year. However, the salaries of Zhao Wei, Lu Yang and others have not been settled, and they have repeatedly urged Wang to ask for it. At the beginning, Wang said that the company did not give him money, and as long as he got the money, he would settle the bill for Zhao Wei and others, and then simply "disappeared". At the beginning of 2023, in desperation, the workers came to the Tonglu County Human Resources and Social Security Bureau (hereinafter referred to as the "Tonglu County Human Resources and Social Security Bureau") to report the case.
After investigation and understanding of the situation, the Tonglu County Human Resources and Social Security Bureau issued a notice of inquiry on labor and social security supervision on April 4, 2023, and issued a labor and social security supervision correction instruction within a time limit on the 18th of the same month, ordering the labor engineering involved in the case to pay a total of more than 260,000 yuan in arrears to Lu Yang and other 10 people within 10 days. 10 days later, the human resources and social security department sent SMS reminders to Wang several times, but he still ignored it and never paid the arrears of wages.
On July 10, 2023, the Tonglu County Human Resources and Social Security Bureau handed over this clue to the Tonglu County Public Security Bureau. The public security organs filed a case against Wang for investigation on suspicion of refusing to pay labor remuneration, and transferred the case to the Tonglu County Procuratorate for review and prosecution on October 17 of the same year.
In the face of the prosecutor's interrogation and explanation of the law, Wang stated: "Party A of the project has not paid for the project, and I have taken the money out to pay for the project materials many times. I also received the rectification order from the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, but there were a lot of things at home during that time, so I thought it didn't matter if I let it go. No matter how difficult my life is, it is better than that of the workers, and I know ...... wrong”
Considering that Wang's attitude of admitting guilt was good, his family had also paid off more than 260,000 yuan in arrears of wages on his behalf at this time, and Zhao Wei and others issued a letter of understanding, stating that they would no longer ask for compensation, and the court planned to put forward a sentencing recommendation for Wang to apply a suspended sentence. On November 17, 2023, the Tonglu County Procuratorate held a public hearing on the case.
At the hearing, the procurator introduced the basic situation of the case, and gave a detailed introduction and elaboration on the facts ascertained by the review, the application of law, and the reasons for the proposed sentencing recommendation for Wang to apply a suspended sentence. Subsequently, the hearing officer questioned Wang, and Wang answered them one by one. After discussion, the hearing examiners unanimously found that Wang met the requirements for a suspended sentence, and that the procuratorate's intention to make a sentencing recommendation for Wang to apply a suspended sentence was based on sufficient grounds and reasonable opinions.
After the comprehensive hearing opinions, the Tonglu County Procuratorate prosecuted the case to the Tonglu County Court on November 27, 2023, and put forward a sentencing recommendation for Wang to apply a suspended sentence. On December 12 of the same year, after the trial, the Tonglu County Court adopted the sentencing recommendation of the procuratorate and sentenced Wang to six months in prison, suspended for one year, and fined 5,000 yuan for the crime of refusing to pay labor remuneration.
* The problem of unpaid wages should start with each boss. Comparing my heart to heart, all the money I make on the construction site is hard-earned money, and no matter how difficult it is, I shouldn't owe this money. In the past, I didn't know that I would be sentenced to prison for arrears of wages, but in the future, I will definitely abide by the law and do the work well. After getting the verdict, Wang said to the prosecutor.
Links to legal provisions. Article 276-1 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China Whoever evades the payment of laborers' labor remuneration by means such as transferring property or escaping, or who has the ability to pay but fails to pay laborers' labor remuneration, and the amount is relatively large, and the payment is still not made after being ordered to do so by the relevant departments, shall be sentenced to up to three years imprisonment or short-term detention and/or a fine;where serious consequences are caused, a sentence of between three and seven years imprisonment and a concurrent fine is to be given.
Where a unit commits the crime in the preceding paragraph, the unit is to be fined, and the directly responsible managers and other directly responsible personnel are to be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.
Where there are acts in the preceding two paragraphs, but serious consequences have not yet been caused, and the laborer's labor remuneration is paid before a public prosecution is initiated, and the corresponding liability for compensation is borne in accordance with law, the punishment may be commuted or waived.
*:Procuratorial**.