Bribery umbrella of more than 28 million yuan, illegal sand mining profits over 1 billion
The destruction of "Beijiang Sand King"
"The appeal was rejected and the original verdict was upheld." On March 15, the Intermediate People's Court of Foshan City, Guangdong Province made a final ruling on Lin Jingquan and other 16 people involved in a criminal case.
Previously, the People's Court of Shunde District of Foshan City sentenced the principal culprit Lin Jingquan to 24 years and 6 months in prison for organizing and leading a triad organization, the crime of creating disturbances, and the crime of gathering people in affrays, and confiscated all personal property; the remaining 15 The defendant was sentenced to nineteen to three years in prison.
9 people including Lin Jingquan were sentenced to pay more than 2.96 billion yuan for the cost of ecological environment restoration.
The court found that since 2000, underworld organizations headed by Lin Jingquan illegally exploited river sand in the Sanshui section of the mainstream of the Beijiang River. Through organized violent crimes, they formed illegal control of the river sand mining industry and cooperated with other gangs. Collusion and joint illegal profits exceeded 1 billion yuan.
Why did the illegal sand mining by Lin Jingquan and others in the Beijiang section last for more than 10 years?
Why is the public power that should play a supervisory role absent, and who is acting as the "protective umbrella"?
How is a public interest litigation involving ecological claims of nearly 3 billion yuan formed?
Reporters conducted an investigation.
Black boss illegally mining sand for more than 10 years, once known as the "Beijiang Sand King"
Beijiang, the second largest water system in the Pearl River Basin, flows through Qingyuan, Foshan and other places, and is one of the most important rivers in Guangdong.
He grew up living in Lin Jingquan, a boathouse in Beijiang, and is well versed in the principles of relying on mountains to eat mountains and water to draw water.
At the end of the 1990s, it accumulated a certain amount of economic strength by operating seafood food stalls.
In order to seek greater benefits, he recruited a group of social idlers to follow the side and do evil, and gradually formed a triad organization headed by him.
"In the early stage of the gang's development, violent crime was a typical feature." The investigator for example said that around 2000, the Lin Jingquan gang shot in the street during a fight with another local gang, which seriously endangered local public order.
"At that time, because of being protected by the'Umbrella', such a bad act was not punished." The investigator said.
With the "status of the rivers and lakes" established by violence, Lin Jingquan's ambitions have expanded day by day, and he began to get involved in the national mineral-Beijiang River Sand, and started a profitable business.
"After 2005, with the development of urbanization, the demand for river sand has increased sharply, and the profits of sand mining have skyrocketed." The pond section is not easy to be found because it is far away from the town, so it has become the hardest hit area for illegal sand mining.
Lin Jingquan organized illegal sand mining in Sanshui area for more than 10 years.
The benefits of illegal sand mining are very tempting, and many local lawbreakers see it in their eyes and are ready to move.
But Lin Jingquan's group obviously couldn't tolerate such a thing.
"In May 2010, after another group of criminals was found illegally mining sand, the Lin Jingquan gang gathered hundreds of people wearing uniform signs and holding sticks to drive them out violently, further consolidating their strong position in the local area." The investigator said.
Donating property to state officials with supervisory authority and using them to intimidate and drive away competitors is also an important method for the group to illegally control the right to extract river sand.
"Some criminals from outside the area tried to enter the local illegal sand mining. Lin Jingquan directly approached Wu Jinning to settle the matter." The investigator said.
Wu Jinning has served successively as Director of Gaoming Branch of Foshan Public Security Bureau, Deputy Director of Foshan Public Security Bureau, and Director of Foshan Justice Bureau.
The investigation showed that he used his position for a long time to help Lin Jingquan gang in illegal sand mining to avoid punishment and deter competitors, and received bribes of more than 1 million yuan.
The Lin Jingquan group has accumulated huge assets by monopolizing sand mining resources.
According to local people, the sand dredgers in Beijiang were all operated by Lin Jingquan at that time, and the price was determined by him, and he was once called the "Beijiang Sand King".
At the same time, Lin Jingquan continued to expand his business to real estate, property management, etc., and further consolidated the "business to raise black and black to protect business" model, which provided favorable conditions for illegal sand mining, and his criminal organization continued to grow and become Harm the cancer in Sanshui area.
Bribery of more than 28 million yuan, many cadres reduced to "protective umbrella"
"It's very windy today." These short five words have special significance to the Lin Jingquan gang who used to illegally mine sand in Beijiang.
This is to remind them: the law enforcement team is about to conduct an inspection and must immediately take back the ship and evade.
What is shocking is that these words come from a local law enforcement officer, Mr. Liang, a public official of the Lubao Town Management Office of the Beijiang Dike Management Office in Guangdong Province.
The Beijiang Dike, as one of the key dikes in the seven major river basins in the country, is an important flood control barrier in the Pearl River Delta region.
Before 2018, law enforcement investigations of illegal sand mining in the Beijiang River Basin were mainly carried out by the Beijiang Dike Management Office, with the cooperation of the local water conservancy department.
Since 2006, Liang has become the target of Lin Jingquan's gang to woo and corrode.
For more than 10 years, Liang provided protection and assistance for Lin Jingquan’s illegal sand mining in the main stream of the Beijiang River and won the bid for the right to mine sand in the Shijiao section of the main stream of the Qingyuan Beijiang River. He received more than 100,000 yuan and more than 200,000 Hong Kong dollars from it.
Lin Jingquan, who is savvy in calculations, has his "account" in mind: what kind of "price" should be paid by what kind of public official, such as a frontline public official like Liang, who mainly pays bribes such as gift money on New Years and Festivals. .
Faced with the temptation of these small interests, Liang was willing to be "hunted" and gave up his professional ethics.
For Lin Jingquan, it was only a small trick to win Liang.
Prior to this, the local leaders in charge of water conservancy work and the head of the water conservancy department had all fallen under Lin Jingquan's sugar-coated cannonballs.
On December 4, 2020, the Foshan Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection issued a notice that Lu Zhuoqing, the former deputy secretary of the Sanshui District Committee and former secretary of the Political and Legal Committee, who had retired for nearly 9 years, was expelled from the party for serious violations of discipline and law. It was for the Lin Jingquan group to illegally collect sand. One of the leading cadres who provide protection.
"Lin Jingquan used money to pull me into the water step by step in order to smoothly mine sand in Beijiang and get through with me, the leader in charge of water conservancy." Lu Zhuoqing said in repentance.
At that time, Lu Zhuoqing was in charge of water conservancy, politics and law. In Lin Jingquan's opinion, he was an excellent target for attracting corrosion. Not only could he open the door to illegal sand mining, but also provide protection for his criminal activities.
Therefore, from 2001 to 2006, Lin Jingquan repeatedly bribed Lu Zhuoqing a total of 9 million yuan.
"Because of my thoughts change, I forgot to be a Communist, forget the purpose of the party, from a grassroots leader of the party, embarked on the path of crime, became a criminal." Lu Zhuoqing, now 70 years old, will eventually become a criminal. Serious violations of discipline and law have paid a heavy price, and he will be greeted by a serious trial of the law.
The upper beam is not straight and the lower beam is crooked.
At the same time that Lu Zhuoqing fell, Cai Ruwen, the deputy secretary of the Political and Legal Committee of the Sanshui District Committee, and He Zhou, the director of the Sanshui District Water Conservancy Bureau, also became Lin Jingquan’s "protective umbrellas" and received 9 million yuan in bribes from him. Its illegal sand mining behavior "open one eye and close one eye".
"In Lin Jingquan's view, bribery is equivalent to buying services. He will decide how much money to give to leading cadres based on the proceeds of illegal sand mining, and realize the transaction of power and money." The investigator explained the reason why Lin Jingquan gave the three people 9 million yuan each. "It is very sad that every leading cadre is clearly marked in Lin Jingquan's heart."
Luo Weiping, the former secretary of the Party Committee of Lubao Town, Sanshui District, was initially disgusted with bribery and other acts, but in his interactions with the Lin Jingquan gang, he feared the powerful forces behind him and gradually slipped into the abyss of violation of discipline and law.
Acting in accordance with regulations, disciplines and laws, breaking the net and collecting "protective umbrella" proceeds from violations of discipline and law
On December 17, 2019, the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department organized and directed the Foshan Public Security Bureau to destroy the criminal gang headed by Lin Jingquan, initially verified the fact that the gang was involved in a large number of crimes, and urged its gang members to surrender.
With the demise of the Lin Jingquan gang, Lu Zhuoqing, Cai Ruwen and other "protective umbrellas" began to panic all day long.
"As long as there is the sound of a car parked at the door, you must look at who is out of the car from the window. On the weekend, you will comfort yourself and say that the staff of the Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision will take a break and will not come to your door."
In September 2020, the Foshan Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection conducted serious investigations into corruption-related crimes such as Lu Zhuoqing and Cai Ruwen.
Due to the major complexity of the case, the Foshan Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection strengthened communication and cooperation with the Municipal Committee of Political and Legal Affairs, the Municipal Public Security Bureau, the Municipal Procuratorate and other units to form a joint force to effectively improve the quality and efficiency of the case.
"In the process of cracking down on criminals, evil, and umbrellas, the discipline inspection and supervision organs attach great importance to both the symptoms and the root causes, and handle cases in accordance with regulations and disciplines. They not only educate, probate, and save people through in-depth and meticulous ideological and political work, so that those who violate discipline and law can admit their mistakes. Repent of mistakes and correct mistakes, and pay attention to doing the "second half of the article", to promote the changes with the case, promote the system cage, standardize the operation of power." Foshan Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection Commission responsible person introduced.
On September 30, 2020, Lu Zhuoqing was detained. He believed that the facts of the crime were long and he had retired for many years. It was difficult for the discipline inspection and supervision agencies to find relevant evidence, so he resisted and concealed the facts of his crime.
In view of this situation, the investigation team strengthened ideological and political work and conducted conversation education on the one hand, and on the other hand stepped up external inspections to fix relevant evidence in time.
Under the powerful influence of the early ideological and political work, Lu Zhuoqing's psychological defense began to collapse in the face of the ironclad evidence before him, confessing the fact that he had accepted Lin Jingquan's bribes.
"The case-handling personnel handle the case in a civilized manner in accordance with regulations, disciplines and laws, and patiently and meticulously do my ideological and political work. I am convinced." Lu Zhuoqing said.
Cai Ruwen is also convinced.
With the help of the organization's education rescue, Cai Ruwen confessed the fact that Lin Jingquan met with Lu Zhuoqing and He Zhouer and helped to conclude the transaction.
"I have retired for nearly ten years, and the bribery was still found out 20 years ago. This fully demonstrates that as long as you violate the law and commit a crime, you will definitely be caught." Cai Ruwen confessed.
It is understood that under the patient and meticulous work of the discipline inspection and supervision organs, Lu Zhuoqing, Cai Ruwen, He Zhouer, and Luo Weiping all truthfully confessed their violations of discipline and law after they were investigated and dealt with in accordance with the rules and disciplines, and turned in the proceeds of violation of discipline and law.
Do a good job in the second half of the article, and promote the restoration of the political ecology and the natural environment
While Lin Jingquan’s illegal crimes have caused serious harm to the local political ecology, economic development, and social governance, their illegal sand mining has also brought serious harm to the ecological environment of Beijiang, threatening the safety of flood control in the Pearl River Delta.
According to the relevant person in charge of the Procuratorate of Shunde District, Foshan City, the institute entrusted the South China Institute of Environmental Sciences of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment to evaluate the ecological damage caused by illegal sand mining. Lin Jingquan organized illegal sand mining in the Sanshui area of 12.38 million cubic meters. .
It is understood that illegal sand mining will change the direction of water flow and cause an unbalanced impact on the Beijiang levee, threatening the safety of the levee.
At the same time, the riverbed will be exposed, the water level will drop, and the benthic organisms will suffer fatal blows.
In addition, the piers of the cross-river bridge lose the protection of river sand, and their safety will also be affected.
After discovering the huge harm caused by illegal sand mining in the investigation, the Foshan Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision once suggested that it could propose a public interest lawsuit during internal discussions.
Coincidentally, the procuratorial organs gave full play to their public interest litigation functions, cooperated with each other, and promoted together, and they were finally recognized by the court.
According to the relevant person in charge of the Shunde District Procuratorate, according to the assessment report, "the claim amount of nearly 3 billion yuan is mainly composed of three parts, one is the ecological environment restoration cost of illegal mining that causes the destruction of the river ecosystem, a total of more than 7.82 million yuan; the second is The biological loss caused by illegal mining has a total value of more than 5.58 million yuan; the third part is the big head, that is, the value of the environmental damage system including illegal sand digging is verified and quantitatively calculated to be more than 2.95 billion yuan."
In response to the lack of top-level supervision and weak law enforcement at the grassroots level exposed in the case, Foshan’s discipline inspection and supervision organs deployed special rectifications, put forward disciplinary inspection and supervision recommendations, used cases as warnings, used cases as warnings, used cases to promote reforms, strict supervision responsibilities, and promoted political ecology. , Double restoration of natural environment.
In 2020, the Foshan Municipal Discipline Inspection and Supervision Agency will focus on three types of key targets in the field of grass-roots law enforcement, and will uniformly deploy special rectification actions on eight types of problems during the in-depth investigation and thorough investigation of benefits, corruption, bribery, and disclosure of information, so as to maintain a high-pressure situation of punishment.
For major and complex cases with severe impacts, we will strengthen the investigation and handling of cases involving leadership package, key supervision, and direct investigations at higher levels. We will insist on one investigation to the end and never be merciless.
Since the launch of the special rectification, the city’s discipline inspection and supervision organs have filed a total of 229 people for investigation and punishment, 113 people have been punished for party discipline and government affairs, 121 people have been organized and dealt with, and 12 people have been transferred to judicial organs.
The discipline inspection and supervision agency of Foshan City also sorted out and analyzed the universality and tendency problems existing in the grass-roots law enforcement activities, and urged the law enforcement departments to establish rules and regulations.
For example, promote the establishment of the "Administrative Punishment Case File Evaluation Standards" and the "Common Question List of Administrative Punishment Cases" by the Municipal Judicial Bureau to unify the content and standards of administrative law enforcement case files evaluation; urge Foshan Sanshui District Sanshui District Sanitation Supervision Office and other units to establish a negative list system , Clarify the boundaries of power and responsibility.
"While strictly investigating violations of discipline and law, we will continue to promote the completion of the second half of the article, minimize the power rent-seeking space, and create a good political ecology." said the person in charge of the Foshan Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection.
(Our reporter Xue Peng reported from Foshan, Guangdong)