Suspected of two crimes and prosecuted, not only selling tea but also fighting thrush birds. The man opened a teahouse owner | gambling | teahouse in the center of Shanghai
Why does a tea house located in the center of Shanghai always bring a birdcage with people who come to drink tea? Recently, the reporter learned from the People's Procuratorate of Jing'an District, Shanghai that the owner actually engaged in bird fighting gambling under the pretext of opening a tea house.
Wang, nicknamed "Wang Laowu", sold thrush birds in the flower and bird market in his early years. He loved fighting birds and even more gambling. In February 2021, after the thrush was included in the National Key Protected Wildlife List, the market did not allow the sale of thrush, so he found another way out. Starting from November 10, 2022, he acquired a piece of land on the second floor of a building in the city center and opened a tea house. In addition to selling tea, customers can also bring their beloved birds to the tea house for a walk, or buy some bird food. The admission fee is 15 yuan per visit, and a monthly package of 350 yuan is also available.
As soon as the teahouse opened, Wang recruited some acquaintances who liked to walk and fight birds to come and play. The circle of bird walking is relatively small, spreading from one hundred to ten. Not long after, the tea house of "Wang Laowu" became increasingly famous, and "tea guests" gradually increased. Everyone brought their own birds and carried a hundred yuan bill in their pockets, knowing each other well.
During bird fighting, both sides will place their thrush birds in a rectangular bamboo cage, and the owner will control the partitions in front of the birds on both sides of the cage. If the thrush bird has a fighting spirit, open the partition and let them fight in the bamboo cage. If one of the birds gets injured or runs away after a period of time, it is considered a loss. If there is a gap in the gambling capital, Wang will place his own bet to fill the gap and facilitate the successful opening of Douniao. As long as the winner has not yet been determined, the audience on the field can participate, and the winning party can receive the money placed by the other party.
As the boss, Wang will specially invite some well-known bird fighting gambling enthusiasts in the circle to come to the tea house to compete in order to facilitate the bird fighting game. Taking the PK match on March 4th this year as an example, Wang warmly invited Xu one day in advance with the temptation of "Zhu's bird fight cannot match yours" and "I will definitely win", and organized Xu to compete against Zhu. He also placed his own bet. About 30 people participated in the gambling on site, with more than 60 people watching, and the gambling amount reached over 200000 yuan. In the end, Xu's bird defeated Zhu's bird, and Wang collected and distributed the gambling funds, winning a sum himself.
The next morning, the police received a report clue and caught multiple people using the "fighting thrush bird" to gamble in the teahouse. The gambling cost at the scene exceeded 10000 yuan, and there were 49 cage birds. The public security organs filed an investigation against Wang and imposed administrative penalties on the other gamblers. A few days later, Xu and Zhu also arrived at the scene and seized four gambling birds. These caged birds were handed over to Shanghai Zoo, and after identification, 52 were found to be thrushes and 1 was dark green with embroidered eyes. Among them, the thrush is a national second level protected wild animal, which is precious and endangered and cannot be illegally traded or transported.
Where do these thrush birds come from? Is Wang still suspected of endangering precious and endangered wildlife? After arriving at the case, Wang insisted that he did not know that the thrush bird was a second level protected animal in the country. The prosecutor immediately issued a supplementary investigation outline to the public security organs, requesting that Wang's subjective cognition and objective buying and selling of thrush birds be verified through methods such as restoring electronic data and witness testimony. Further investigation revealed that as early as March 2021, someone had already told Wang that the thrush bird is a national second level protected animal and cannot be illegally purchased or sold. Wang also reminded the thrush bird merchant that the police had arrested his colleague and instructed him to "pay attention", "sell quietly if the market cannot sell", and "sell at a high price".
After examination, Wang sold three wild thrush birds to tea house regulars three times from June 2021 to the time of the incident. In addition, three birds purchased by Wang were identified to be worth RMB 30000. As a result, the prosecutor added a legal determination that Wang is suspected of endangering precious and endangered wildlife. Recently, the Jing'an District Prosecutor's Office has prosecuted Wang on charges of gambling and endangering precious and endangered wildlife in accordance with the law.
