Chapter 61: Are You Mentally Ill?

  Upon arriving at the 4th visiting room of the detention center, Tang Xiaosheng saw a middle-aged man in his thirties, wearing black-framed glasses, with pale skin and dressed in a suit and leather shoes, looking refined.

  This middle-aged man was the defense lawyer that Little Dragon Maiden had invited for Tang Xiao Sheng, his name is Zhao Wei Liang.

  "Hello, Mr. Tang, I'm Zhao. At the request of your girlfriend, Long Xiaoxue, from now on, I am your defense lawyer." Zhao Weiliang introduced himself.

  "Hello." Tang Xiaosheng sat down across from him.

  After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Zhao Weiliang got straight to the point and said: "Mr. Tang, I've already reviewed the materials related to Xia Bai's case and the charges against you this morning. To be honest, the situation doesn't look good."

  Tang Xiaosheng calmly said: "You can say it directly, I'm mentally prepared."

  Zhao Weiliang nodded and analyzed: "Based on the materials currently released by the police, not only is there sufficient and detailed physical evidence for this murder case, but also eyewitness testimony of the process of the murder. In addition to your motive, time, and ability to commit the crime, if you are really brought to trial, the possibility of being convicted is extremely high."

  Tang Xiaosheng explained in a low voice: "I know that the police have found a lot of evidence of my crime, but I am innocent. I did not kill Xia Bai. Those so-called evidences are all fake."

  Zhao Weiliang adjusted his glasses and said, "Mr. Tang, as your defense lawyer, I will definitely do my best to fight for your legitimate rights, so you can rest assured on this point. However, the court's judgment is based on evidence, if the facts are clear and the evidence is sufficient, even a defense lawyer cannot do anything, at most we can only make some efforts in sentencing, striving for a lighter punishment."

  Tang Xiaosheng fell silent for a moment, he also knew that the current case was extremely unfavorable to himself, with both human and physical evidence available. It would be quite difficult for his lawyer to defend him. After a pause, he asked: "Lawyer Zhao, given the current situation, if the trial really takes place, what will be the likely outcome?"

  "Judging from the evidence currently disclosed by the police, it is highly likely that the crime of intentional homicide will be established. The crime of intentional homicide has different degrees of severity in sentencing, and if the crime is established, there are two possible outcomes in terms of sentencing."

  He paused for a moment, then continued, "The first possibility is that if the judge determines you were acting in excessive self-defense when you killed Xia Bai, it would be considered a relatively minor offense and you would receive a lighter sentence of 3 to 10 years' imprisonment."

  "What's the second possibility?"

  "The second possibility is that, due to your entanglement with Xia Bai in terms of economic interests related to the inheritance of the Longshi Group, if the judge believes that your motive for murder was to gain personal benefits, this constitutes a crime of killing for financial gain. The circumstances are more serious, and in sentencing, it will be dealt with severely, possibly resulting in a sentence of ten years or more imprisonment, life imprisonment, or even death."

  "Death penalty?"

  Tang Xiaosheng's eyebrows slightly furrowed, and he asked slowly: "From your perspective, which of these two sentencing possibilities is more likely?"

  Zhao Weiliang thought for a moment and said, "Judging from the current situation, I think the probability of being sentenced to severe punishment is about 70%. But if new evidence emerges, it's hard to say. However, rest assured that in terms of sentencing, I will do my best to defend you and strive for the court to be lenient."

  By now, Tang Xiaosheng had a fairly comprehensive understanding of the whole case, which was roughly what he had guessed. The situation was extremely bad. If he couldn't find evidence to prove his innocence, once the trial began, what awaited him would likely be a long prison sentence, or even the death penalty.

  "Mr. Tang, may I ask you a personal question?" At this time, Lawyer Zhao Weiliang suddenly asked cautiously.

  Tang Xiaosheng said calmly: "Go ahead and ask."

  Zhao Weiliang sank and asked in a low voice: "Are you mentally ill?"

  Tang Xiaosheng was taken aback, his question was a bit strange.

  Zhao Weiliang added: "As far as I know, more than half a month ago, you were sent to the Beijing Huashan Hospital for mental illness due to your schizophrenia. Is this true or false?"

  Tang Xiaosheng indeed stayed in a mental hospital, but at that time it was to see Guo Yixiang, the psychiatrist, entrusted by Guo Yang. He pretended to be mentally ill and slowly said: "Lawyer Zhao, I have been to a mental hospital."

  Zhao Weiliang nodded and said: "If your mind really has a problem, that's great. Maybe this case still has a turning point."

  Tang Xiaosheng was stunned for a moment, thought for a while, and finally understood Zhao Weiliang's meaning.

  According to his knowledge, the Criminal Law has relevant provisions. If a mentally ill person causes harmful consequences when they cannot distinguish or control their behavior, and it is confirmed through statutory procedures, they may not bear criminal responsibility.

  In other words, if Tang Xiaosheng can be recognized by the court as a mentally ill person who has completely lost his ability to recognize or control his own behavior, even if the evidence of his crime is conclusive, he can still escape legal punishment.

  "Mr. Tang, considering that you may be suffering from schizophrenia, I will rush to collect relevant materials in the next few days and then apply to the procuratorate for a forensic psychiatric appraisal of you, hoping it can go through." Zhao Weiliang said out his arrangement.

  Afterwards, the two exchanged views on some relevant details of the case, and the meeting lasted for more than half an hour.

  After Lawyer Zhao Weiliang left, Tang Xiaosheng was also taken back to the detention center hall by the prison police. He began to repeatedly think about the question that Zhao Weiliang had raised before he left, regarding whether he suffered from schizophrenia.

  The current situation is extremely unfavorable for Tang Xiaosheng. The murder case has only occurred for less than two days, and many pieces of evidence have already pointed to him as the murderer of Xia Bai. What he fears even more is that all this may be just the beginning.

  It's clear that someone wants to frame him for Xia Bai's death, and even wants to kill him. To achieve this goal, the other party has provided the police with a lot of evidence, not only physical evidence but also eyewitness testimony.

  The physical evidence has been tampered with, clearly taken out of context and misleading. As for the witnesses, it goes without saying that they are definitely fake witnesses who were paid to testify. If the other party is capable of fabricating one piece of false evidence, it's probably not difficult for them to come up with a second, third, or even more. If unfavorable evidence continues to emerge, Tang Xiaosheng feels his future prospects are worrisome.

  A man's life is at stake. If the case continues to develop in this way, Tang Xiaosheng may really lose his own life. He doesn't want to wait for death, nor does he want to die unjustly.

  He strongly felt that he should take some initiative. Before the trial, new false evidence had not appeared and the charges had not been established, perhaps there was still a glimmer of hope.

  After leaving the reception room, Tang Xiaosheng's mind kept thinking about this matter repeatedly. The current situation did not allow him to relax at all.

  At eight o'clock in the evening, after finishing his first day of life in the detention center, he returned to his cell alone, still thinking about the case.

  After an afternoon of consideration, he felt that the evidence to prove his innocence was slim. He met Xia Bai that night and didn't find anyone on the scene, making it difficult to find witnesses and physical evidence to clear himself. If he couldn't prove his innocence, the consequences were predictable.

  Tang Xiaosheng did not want his fate to be controlled by others, nor did he want to wait for death in prison. He knew he had to do something. For the whole night, he sat quietly on the bed in the cell, sleepless until dawn.

  But on this sleepless night, he kept thinking about the question Zhao Weiliang raised today, whether he was suffering from mental illness. If Tang Xiaosheng was really diagnosed with severe mental illness, then he could be exempt from criminal liability and released without guilt.

  After a night of repeated consideration, Tang Xiaosheng found that this was the only way he could think of for the time being.

  Of course, Tang Xiaosheng also knew that he didn't have a mental illness, but things had come to this point, and he made a bold decision: he decided to pretend to be crazy, feigning a severe mental patient.