Sichuan Yibin Gongxian police went to Shenyang, Liaoning in 2023 to investigate counterfeit Wuliangye liquor and seized 159 bottles of Maotai from a local liquor dealer, with a total value exceeding 1.2 million yuan (RMB). After being held in the police warehouse for three years, the liquor dealer discovered upon inspection this year that some of the Maotai was missing and some bottles were empty. The police were unable to provide a reasonable explanation for this.
According to the “Huashang Newspaper” report by “Dafeng News”, Mr. He and his wife, Ms. Dang, were running a liquor business in Shenyang. On June 16, Mr. and Mrs. He reported that on May 26, 2023, three police officers from Gongxian County, Sichuan Yibin, came to Shenyang, took Mr. He for questioning under the pretext of selling counterfeit Wuliangye liquor, and confiscated his 159 bottles of Maotai worth over 1.2 million yuan. Subsequently, the police handed over Mr. He to the prosecutor on charges of selling counterfeit liquor.
Ms. Dang stated that they had been very cautious in the transaction process, checking the other party’s business license and having the purchased liquor appraised before delivery each time. They had never received fake liquor before. She said, “We sold these liquors to secondary tobacco and liquor stores, which are professionals in the industry and capable of discerning alcohol authenticity. There were inspection records before each delivery, and we had never received feedback about counterfeit liquors.”
However, court records showed that the previous seller, Mr. Jiao, admitted to mixing around 20 high imitation liquors with other goods sold to Mr. He.
Ms. Dang mentioned that during the trial process, they had applied several times to inspect the confiscated Maotai liquor and requested authentication, but all requests were denied. It was not until May of this year that they were finally allowed to examine the relevant evidence.
On May 20, accompanied by their lawyer, Mr. and Mrs. He went to the warehouse of the Drug and Food Environment Investigation Brigade of the Gongxian County Public Security Bureau to inventory the confiscated Maotai liquor. They discovered that nearly one-third of the 159 bottles of Maotai had gone missing or were partially opened with less alcohol. For instance, a 30-year-old Maotai vintage worth 15,000 yuan was missing, and a set of Maotai Yanjing Bajing aged liquor worth tens of thousands was also opened. However, the on-site police officers were unable to provide a reasonable explanation for this situation.
With a significant amount of missing Maotai liquor as physical evidence, Mr. He once again applied for authentication of its authenticity. However, during the court hearing on May 21, the judge responded, “The Maotai liquor is not relevant to this case, and the prosecuting organ did not charge it.”
Furthermore, the criminal investigation dossier from the Cuiping District Procuratorate regarding this case showed that the case was registered on August 8, 2023. However, the local police had already detained Mr. He in Shenyang three months before the case was filed, and confiscated Maotai liquor worth millions on the pretext of handling the case. Ms. Dang had raised questions about this but had not received a satisfactory answer.
Even more suspiciously, there were significant flaws in the police’s collection records and other evidence. A media reporter compared a scanned copy of the May 27, 2023 record provided by Ms. Dang with the original photo of that record issued by the prosecutor and found that the latter added the signature and fingerprints of witness Dong, as well as Mr. He’s fingerprints. In several parts of the record, Mr. He’s signatures showed noticeable differences. Ms. Dang’s lawyer stated that they had raised questions about this in court and requested handwriting analysis.
Regarding the many doubts in the case, on June 17, the Yibin City Public Security Bureau Supervision and Inspection Detachment responded to “The Paper” stating that they were conducting an internal investigation. The political office staff of the Gongxian County Public Security Bureau said, “Interviews need to be approved by the provincial bureau.”
The case has now reached its 8th court hearing and is still in the trial stage. Ms. Dang mentioned that her husband has developed severe depression due to this incident.