On June 2, Lianyungang's "Pharmaceutical Case" was sentenced in the second instance, and all 15 defendants in the first instance were sentenced. The crime of selling counterfeit drugs found by the court of first instance was changed to the crime of illegal business operation. The penalties of the 14 first-instance defendants were all reduced, and another one was acquitted.
Ge Shaoshan and Deng Xueping, the defense lawyers of the appellant Lin Yongxiang in this case, told Peng Pai News (www.thepaper.cn) that in order to prevent and control the new coronary pneumonia epidemic, the verdict on June 2 was carried out through online video.
According to defense lawyers, of the 15 first-instance defendants, except Cao Xuanchang was found not guilty, the other 14 were found guilty of illegal business operations, and the punishment was reduced compared to the first-instance trial. Lin Yongxiang, the first defendant in the first trial with the heaviest sentence, was changed from six years and three months to five years. In addition, Zhang Xu was changed from six years and six months in first instance to five years, and He Yonggao was changed from four years and seven months in first instance to one year.
The criminal case caused by the purchase and sale of imitation anticancer drugs in India is similar to the plot of the movie "I am not a drug god" and is called the "drug god case" in Lianyungang.
According to previous reports from Peng Mei News, the defendants in this case included 15 people including Lin Yongxiang and He Yonggao. The prosecution alleges that from the end of 2013 to the second half of 2014, Lin Yongxiang, He Yonggao and others successively purchased a large number of anti-cancer drugs such as Iressa, Gleevec, Trokai, and Dorjemei produced in India without import approval. Sales to others, ranging from 50,000 to 5.9 million yuan.
In August 2018, the Intermediate People’s Court of Lianyungang City made a first-instance judgment on the case, and imposed 11 years’ imprisonment ranging from 3 years and 9 months to 6 years and 6 months on 11 defendants including Lin Yongxiang for the sale of counterfeit drugs. One person was sentenced to probation, and three were exempted from criminal punishment.
In a previous interview with Peng Mei News, many cancer patients had stated that the "fake medicine" sold by Lin Yongxiang and others identified by the court was different from the general "fake medicine" and was a targeted drug that could "continue life". The Lianyungang Food and Drug Administration also told Peng Mei News at the first trial of the case that the drug involved was an unauthorized imported drug and was "dismissed as a fake drug."
After the verdict in the first instance, 7 of the 15 defendants filed an appeal. On May 20, 2019, the case was seconded by the Jiangsu Provincial Higher People's Court, and defense lawyers such as Lin Yongxiang and others appeared in court for innocent defense.
It is worth noting that the Drug Administration Law was revised by the 13th National People's Congress Standing Committee in August 2019 and will come into force on December 1, 2019. The new "Drug Administration Law" deletes the relevant provisions of the original "disposition according to counterfeit drugs", and stipulates in Article 124: Unauthorized import of a small amount of drugs that have been legally marketed overseas, and the circumstances are lighter, they can be mitigated or exempted Punishment.
A number of defendants' defense lawyers stated that they will apply for state compensation in accordance with the law after the second instance verdict.
Surging News Reporter Zhu Yuanxiang Zhu Xuan