Brother of Chinese man sentenced to life for evading tolls confesses
Henan Province, China
The brother of a man who was given a life sentence for evading highway tolls in China has come forward to confess that he was the actual culprit.
On Saturday evening, Shi Junfeng surrendered to the authorities in Yuzhou City, Henan province. Shi Junfeng insisted that it was he, and not his brother who was responsible for placing the military license plates on their truck.
The ruse, while it lasted, helped Shi avoid paying 3.7 million yuan ($550,00) in road tolls. Military vehicles are exempt from paying tolls.
Many Chinese complain that highway tolls are too high.
The brother who was convicted, Shi Jianfeng, received a life sentence and was told to pay $2 million yuan in fines. There was a very vitriolic outcry from Chinese netizens for the life sentence, saying that more serious crimes carried lighter sentences.
Another complaint was that the highway tolls were so expensive that it encouraged this sort of fraud.
After the outrage was voiced, a retrial was announced, but also with the revelation that further investigation revealed that Shi Jianfeng had accomplices.
Seemingly, Shi Junfeng was that accomplice and stepped up so his brother does not take all the responsibility.
