Seventeen-year-old Li Guanfeng — alternately called Li Tianyi, problem child, brat, and rapist — was found guilty of gang rape by Haidian District People’s Court in Beijing earlier this morning. His high-level connections — his father is renowned PLA singer Li Shuangjiang, and his mother is singer Meng Ge — apparently weren’t enough to get him off the hook for allegedly sexually assaulting a young woman with four of his friends in a Beijing hotel on February 17.

SCMP has this report:

“In the course of committing the crime they have performed obscene acts to the victim, which should be seen as part of the criminal act of gang rape and have been put into consideration when determining the level of punishment,” according to verdict shared on the microblog of the Beijing judiciary.

Li’s sentence is harsher than all except one of his co-defendants, because he chose not to plead guilty. Another defendant surnamed Wang, the only one of them who was an adult when the crime was committed, was sentenced to 12 years in prison. The other three received jail sentences of between three and four years.

And like so, the saga nears its conclusion (an appeal is forthcoming, and there’s the matter of where Li will serve out his term). The story first broke in February, and has been allowed — almost surprisingly, considering the players involved — to remain in the limelight almost every step of the way. In July, when a court momentarily rendered Li’s alleged crime as “taking turns having sex,” we wondered aloud whether authorities were serious about prosecuting this young man with a history of misbehavior. “The public will never trust Chinese justice until an example is made of someone,” I wrote, referring specifically to the country’s second-generation rich who seem to find increasingly creative ways of ducking discipline and receding from the glare of public censure. But that question appears to have been answered.

Perhaps part of what went wrong is the Li family chose to let this drama play out in public, maybe under the mistaken notion that their son was a sympathetic figure. Li’s defense team — almost led by the mother, Meng Ge — had been leaking information about the victim and the bar where she met Li Guanfeng for the past month. Notable figures such as Tsinghua professor Yi Yanyou were also enlisted (directly or not) to help the cause. Meng even asked the trial to be public — when that request was denied, it should’ve been a clear sign that the defense was doomed. In the end, the court appeared to scoff at Li’s defense, ruling that the victim’s profession “had no direct relationship” to the charges.

Are we heartened? Or have we just learned that the best, only way to wiggle out of charges, if you have the means and ability, is to shutter yourself from the public eye and negotiate in backrooms?

The following one-minute video on Youku, a straightforward news report on the verdict, has been watched 778,000 times in the hour since it was posted. Li Guanfeng may have never had a chance.

Li Tianyi — who is now being called Li Guanfeng in an official capacity, which means we’ll probably start doing that as well — is the only of five defendants to plead not guilty in the high-profile gang-rape trial that ended yesterday in Beijing.

Via SCMP:

The Haidian District People’s Court said in a press release posted on its microblog yesterday that four of the five defendants accused of raping a woman they met at a Beijing night club had pleaded guilty. Three entered their pleas on Wednesday, while the fourth switched to a guilty plea yesterday.

Proceedings turned ugly yesterday, the second and final day of the trial, as the defense team repeatedly attacked the victim, a 23-year-old surnamed Yang:

Yesterday, Li’s lawyer, Wang Ran , submitted a statement to the court accusing the victim of lying several times to the police about her personal details and injuries. In the statement posted online, Wang described Yang as “an unmarried woman with promiscuous sexual relationships”, citing her medical records.

The #LiTianyi defence continues its attack on rape victim: "Yang first claimed she was a virgin before… then denied it later"

— That's Beijing (@Thats_Beijing) August 29, 2013

"These inconsistent statements suggest Yang is seriously mentally ill" – #LiTianyi lawyer.

— That's Beijing (@Thats_Beijing) August 29, 2013

Attacks on victim at #LiTianyi trial continue: Yang diagonised with "gynecological diseases," suggesting "complicated private life"

— That's Beijing (@Thats_Beijing) August 29, 2013

And this:

#LiTianyi's mother Meng Ge claimed Li and 4 friends were tortured by cops in interrogation. "No evidence" says Wei's lawyer. "No violence"

— That's Beijing (@Thats_Beijing) August 29, 2013

Yang, by the way, remains hospitalized due to psychological stress.

Four of the five suspects, including Li, are under the age of 18. At the very least, it seems Li should be convicted of assault, all things considered:

The prosecution produced witnesses testifying against Li yesterday, the Beijing Evening News reported on its official microblog account. After the assault Li talked to a witness over the phone about beating up the victim. The newspaper did not say how it obtained details of the proceedings, which are closed to the public.

Of course, it waits to be seen. Li is the son of PLA singers Li Shuangjiang and Meng Ge. Global Times has a timeline of the case.

Li Tianyi, 17, son of PLA singers Li Shuangjiang and Meng Ge, pleaded not guilty to gang rape on Wednesday as his trial kicked off in Beijing’s Haidian People’s Court.

An “insider” told Beijing News that Li said he was sleepy on February 17 after a night of drinking, so when he and four friends brought the alleged victim, a 23-year-old woman surnamed Yang, up to a hotel room — where they took turns raping / having sex with her (depending on who you believe) — he was not up to task.

“Neither the court nor the lawyers involved confirmed Li had made that statement,” according to China Daily.

The article goes on to detail the last six months in this saga, featuring accusations (calling Yang a prostitute), new defense teams, blackmail, and plenty of reminders that young Li has strayed from the law in the past.

At the age of 15, Li and a friend, driving expensive cars without licenses, attacked a couple that allegedly stood in their way and scoffed at onlookers about calling the police. He was sentenced to one year in a juvenile correctional facility.

The trial continues today, is in fact happening as we speak. Updates as they become available.

Singers’ son pleads not guilty (China Daily)

One high-profile trial ends, and another begins.

Hearings for Li Tianyi, son of famous PLA singer Li Shuangjiang, commenced this morning from Beijing’s Haidian People’s Court.

Li, who is also known as Li Guanfeng, and four others are accused of gang-raping a woman surnamed Yang on the night of February 17 in a hotel.

Li’s defense team, when not lashing out at the media, has implied not-so-subtly that Yang was a prostitute. Li’s mother, Meng Ge (also a singer), filed a claim accusing Yang’s employer of condoning pimping and prostitution.

According to a China.org story earlier this month, “Li’s mother Meng Ge filed the claim with the Beijing Public Security Bureau, accusing bar manager Zhang Guangyao of pimping and extortion.”

The bar said it might sue for this “slander.”

Yang is reportedly suffering from psychological stress and has been hospitalized.

Further details:

The Beijing Times quoted an alleged insider in telling details of the crime earlier this week. The insider claimed Li and his friends forced the victim, the drunk Ms. Yang, into a hotel room and beat her after she refused to take off her clothes. Li Tianyi was the first to rape the girl, the others followed suit without wearing condoms. They then gave Yang 2,000 yuan and left her on the side of the road.

According to the report, Yang is a 23-year-old from Hebei Province and a secretary with an advertisement company. She worked part-time at the bar to earn tips. Zhang, the Global Club manager, asked her to entertain the guests.

Meng Ge (pictured) had asked for the trial to be made public, but that request was denied because the case involves minors.

Li and the other suspects were detained on February 20.

UPDATE, 8/29, 10:59 am: Li Tianyi has pleaded not guilty.

On Tuesday, Tsinghua University law professor Yi Yanyou wrote on his Sina Weibo, “Raping a chaste woman is more harmful than raping a bar girl, a dancing girl, a sanpeinu or a prostitute.” Because you know, in this world, some people just have it better than others, and deserve to be treated better because of it.

That Yi’s statement was in relation to the Li Tianyi gang rape case quickly became lost in the outcry and massively loud sighs against Yi. How could a law professor — at one of China’s most prestigious universities, no less — say such a dimwitted thing?

China Real Time, a Wall Street Journal blog, sought to find out, and caught up with the Tsinghua professor on Wednesday to get a clarification. Get your sighs out of the way right now.

Mr. Yi said his comments didn’t amount to a defense of Li Tianyi. “I’m not saying that Li Tianyi didn’t commit rape, nor that prostitutes could be raped,” he said.

Good start. Why am I waiting for the other shoe to drop?

Mr. Yi said each crime has a certain level of social harm, and the psychological harm is different on different victims.

Ah, there it is.

“The same curse words have different impacts on different people,” Mr. Yi said. “Chaste women and prostitutes have different views on chasteness,” he said, “so [rape has] a different impact on them.”

I don’t know where to begin. With Yi’s anachronistic view of chastity that teaches all women to neither seek nor accept pleasure unless it involves scrubbing the chinoiserie? With his casual linking of rape with sex, as if the former weren’t an act of violence against society, and the latter somehow demeaned woman in the eyes of that society? The impact of curse words? World’s worst sociologist here, ladies and gentlemen. Chaste women and prostitutes have different views on chasteness - now he’s a bloody mind-reader. Mel Gibson in What Women Want wouldn’t have gone that fucking far.

But what do you really think, Yi Yanyou?

Mr. Yi told China Real Time on Tuesday that Tsinghua Law School suggested he delete the controversial post, but he refused. “Deletion means that I think I’m wrong,” Mr. Yi said.

Yi Yanyou is an oaf, and one day, in a different life, will be viciously attacked by a black bear as he swims upstream with his mouth puckered into an oval. He will not survive. Be comforted.

But on Wednesday, Mr. Yi deleted the post. “I don’t want to be in this anymore,” he said in a call to China Real Time.

And by the end of the day Wednesday, he had apologized. “My comment yesterday was indeed improper,” he wrote on his Weibo account. “I’m disturbed by the negative impact and hereby apologize to all.”

Be well, Mr. Yi. May you never be negatively impacted by rape again.

Professor Apologizes for Comments on Rape Case (WSJ)

Li Tianyi, accused of participating in a gang rape, has a new lawyer — one that lashed out at media recently — and now has a new defense: the girl worked at a bar, so, you know… you know. You get my drift, don’t you? Oh, you don’t?

Let’s let Yi Yanyou, law professor and director of Tsinghua Evidence Act Center at Tsinghua University, explicate, via Offbeat China:

“To emphasize that the victim is a bargirl doesn’t mean it’s OK to rape a bargirl. It only means that a bargirl is more likely to agree to a sexual act. Besides, even if it is a rape, to rape a bargirl does less harm than to rape a good woman.”

When a bargirl cries rape, it’s more likely she’s lying because she works at a bar. Even if she was telling the truth about being raped, don’t worry about it, because she works at a bar. Working at a bar makes you a bad woman.

Yi is not done being blisteringly stupid.

“About the last point, I made the follow revision: It does more harm to rape a good woman than to rape a bargirl, a dancing girl, an escort or a prostitute.”

Tsinghua University, everyone. Law. Yi Yanyou is one of your supporters, Li Tianyi. Isn’t that comforting?

Tsinghua law professor: “It does less harm to rape a bargirl than to rape a good woman.” (Offbeat China)

Since allegations emerged in February that Li Tianyi participated in a gang rape of a girl in a Beijing hotel, his name has been connected with his father, Li Shuangjiang, a famous PLA tenor. The fact that he’s the son of a well regarded celebrity with connections to the Party should have spared Li fils from the worst of media scrutiny, but for whatever reason, that hasn’t happened. And his new lawyers — new because his old ones were fired — are pissed about that.

Global Times reports:

The new defense lawyers of one of the suspects in a high-profile gang rape case have slammed the media for naming their client even though he is a minor, and therefore subject to privacy laws.

The name of the minor, surnamed Li, was released in connection with an alleged gang rape that took place in Beijing in February.

Li is the son of two high-profile People’s Liberation Army singers.

You’ll notice that Global Times, in its report, chose to withhold Li’s first name, as well as his parents’ names. His defense team deserves a raise already!

But see, here’s the thing: Li might actually be 19 years old, making him an adult. As SCMP reported back in March:

Angry netizens pointed to earlier media interviews given by his famous parents, which seemed to indicate that the son was in fact a few years older, and speculated the family might have pulled strings to falsify records, in the hope of helping their son escape the full wrath of the law.

In any case, accusing the media through the media of committing an ethics violation seems like a flimsy defense for rape. One might even say a desperate one.

It might not matter in end. Here, again, is Global Times, publishing a Xinhua story — that’s Xinhua, the official outlet for official PRC news — on July 8:

Li Tianyi, son of two famous military singers, was indicted on Monday by the Haidian People’s Procuratorate in Beijing along with four other accomplices for allegedly gang raping a woman.

Li Tianyi, sometimes known as Li Guanfeng, is the 17-year-old son of well-known People’s Liberation Army singer Li Shuangjiang, which was why it was so shocking, in February, when he was accused of participating in a gang rape. The public quickly judged him guilty, and predictably renewed curses of the country’s privileged youth while anxiously waiting for the other shoe to drop, the Chinese justice system to fail.

A funny thing, though: more than four months later, things continue to look grim for Li, despite his father being the aforementioned famous Li Shuangjiang. His lawyer quit last week, according to China Daily, and Li will continue to be tried for “gang rape,” likely as an adult.

Of course, people are still waiting for the other shoe to drop, and Chinese media is squarely to blame. Reports SCMP:

From “alleged gang rape” to “taking turns having sex” – the changing phrases in Chinese official media reports on a criminal case involving the teenage son of a famous PLA general are angering many internet users.

Indeed, “taking turns having sex” was such a popular topic that it is now un-searchable on Sina Weibo:

What was Chinese media thinking? How is “taking turns having sex” possibly a crime? Did no editor think to ask? (Swinger parties are technically illegal here, but the phrase is still ridiculous.)

Or did an official, uncomfortable with how swiftly Li was convicted in the court of public opinion, decide to retake the narrative?

Beijing News clarified that Li is indeed still being charged with rape, but as SCMP notes, “despite authority’s clarification, ‘taking turns to have sex’ has become the most frequently mentioned phrase on China’s biggest microblog Sina Weibo. It has been discussed over 240,000 times as of Friday afternoon. This shows how strongly public feels about bad behaviour by children from privileged backgrounds.”

Fair or not, the second-generation rich here will never get the benefit of the doubt. There’s a reason for that: they drive through walls, run over people, stab women, and never face a degree of punishment commensurate with their crime. The public will never trust Chinese justice until an example is made of someone. Maybe Li Tianyi.

UPDATE, 7/9, 7:47 pm: On July 8, he was officially charged with rape.

Li Tianyi, who was arrested last month for allegedly participating in a gang rape with four other people in a Beijing hotel, may have used his famous parents’ connections to falsify records to make himself seem younger than he actually is, according to a blockbuster exclusive from the South China Morning Post.

Li’s parents, father Li Shuangjiang, a famous singer in the PLA with a non-commanding rank equivalent to major general, and mother Meng Ge, also a famous singer in the military, claim Li doesn’t turn 17 until April. People have doubted this from the beginning, according to SCMP:

Angry netizens pointed to earlier media interviews given by his famous parents, which seemed to indicate that the son was in fact a few years older, and speculated the family might have pulled strings to falsify records, in the hope of helping their son escape the full wrath of the law.

The above photo may prove it.

A graduation photo obtained by the South China Morning Post and statements by two of Li’s schoolmates also seem to indicate that the younger Li is likely to be older than his family has recently claimed.

Those between the ages of 16 and 18 are considered minors, for whom the Chinese criminal justice system is usually more forgiving. However, SCMP’s sources say Li Tianyi may be as old as 19.

The photo shows one graduation class of Beijing’s prestigious Zhongguancun No 1 Primary School, dated 2006. An introductory text printed next to the photo identifies Li as one of the boys in the class. Most of those in this class photo are now 19 years old, Li’s classmates told the Post.

“We all know his father is Li Shuangjiang,” said one of the classmates.

“We always thought he was of the same age as the rest of us,” said another classmate.

Both classmates spent their entire six years of elementary school in the same class as Li. They spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity as they feared reprisals.

No one in the Li family’s camp answered SCMP’s calls.

A source close to the investigation into the gang-rape case told the Post that the Beijing police had not looked into questions about Li’s age.

“Unless Li’s own family asked the police to verify his birth documents, the police usually wouldn’t act just on the public’s suspicions,” said the source.

Could that change? Presented with enough irrefutable evidence, could authorities decide to try Li Tianyi as an adult, or would existing guanxi with his famous parents take precedent? Stay tuned. This story gotten quite interesting.

PLA general’s son in rape case may have lied about his age to face lighter sentence (SCMP, H/T Alicia)

Undated SCMP file photo; the accused is on the far right

Earlier today, the People’s Daily reported that five people were detained in connection with a gang rape that happened Sunday in a Beijing hotel.

A source has just informed the South China Morning Post one of those detainees is the 17-year-old son of a famous PLA singer.

A source close to Beijing police told the South China Morning Post on Friday that Li Tianyi, also known as Li Guanfeng, was detained on Thursday night for allegedly participating in the gang rape. The source did not elaborate on the crime or its victim.

…Several major Chinese news portals, including Sina.com and Ifeng.com, have also confirmed Li Tianyi’s detention, citing police sources and family members.

Li’s father is 74-year-old Li Shuangjiang, a singer for the People’s Liberation Army who has a non-commanding rank of Major General.

This is not the younger Li’s first brush with the law. In 2011, at the age of 15, he was sentenced to a year in a youth reformation centre after he and another young friend assaulted a couple near his Beijing home. This incident occurred after a minor collision between their cars. Li was driving a souped-up BMW without a licence because he was too young to drive.

More details as they become available.

UPDATE, 2/23, 11:59 am: Li Tianyi, he of the infamous BMW, was involved in a nasty assault in 2011 in which he shouted at bystanders, “Don’t you dare call police.” Via BBC:

The teenage boy, who is too young to drive legally, was behind the wheel of a BMW car with no licence plates when he found a middle-aged couple in another vehicle blocking his way in Beijing.

Li Tianyi and a second teenager, who was driving an Audi, leapt from their vehicles and, it is reported, assaulted the couple while shouting at shocked bystanders: “Don’t you dare call police”.

Many in China saw it as yet another example of the children of the rich and powerful acting as if they were above the law, our correspondent adds.

Li’s father bailed him out that time, according to Global Times:

Ma Weiguo, a Beijing lawyer, told the Global Times Monday that even though Li Tianyi cannot be punished due to his age, his parents should bear responsibility for his actions.

“According to China’s Tort Liability Law, Li Shuangjiang has to compensate the injured with medical fees and possible income,” Ma said.

We’ll see if Li Shuangjiang has any sway left. Can Li Tianyi be punished due to his age this time?

General’s son detained in connection with gang-rape (SCMP)

UPDATE, 3/13: The latest report, via SCMP, is that Li Tianyi has lied about his age — that he’s actually 19 and should be tried as an adult.