The case of Xie Xjun committing the crime of negligent arson with incidental civil public-interest litigation
The case of Xie Xjun committing the crime of negligent arson with incidental civil public-interest litigation
[Basic facts]
In February 2021, Xie Xjun, when he burned joss paper before his ancestors’ tombs in the area under Dahekou protection station in Qilianshan National Nature Reserve, ignited the grass and shrubs and destroyed the woodland. As the fire broke out, Xie Xjun immediately called the fire brigade and joined in firefighting till the fire was completely subdued. Expert examination shows an area of 39.2156 ha, including 31.4227 ha of natural shrubs and woods, 7.4418 ha of natural grass and some forest trails and river beds, is blazed. Xie Xjun truthfully confessed his crime before the court, and replanted 9,420 Qinghai spruces (Picea crassifolia Kom.) ex-situ beforehand in the designated area according to the professionally prepared reafforestation engineering design. Qilianshan Forest Area People’s Procuratorate, Gansu, brought a criminal case with incidental civil public-interest litigation to the court, requesting to punish Xie Xjun for his criminal responsibility and order Xie Xjun to restore the damaged woods and grass resources by ex-situ revegetation or undertake the revegetation costs.
[Judgement]
Qilianshan Forest Area Court, Gansu, argues that Xie Xjun, the defendant, caused losses by negligence to State forest resources, which constitutes the crime of negligent arson; Xie Xjun surrendered himself to the authorities after the fire broke out and earnestly participated in firefighting, and truthfully confessed his crime before the court, which is a circumstance of surrender; and Xie Xjun replanted Qinghai spruces beforehand in the designated area as per the engineering design, and sincerely repented for his crime. The court thus made out the judgement that Xie Xjun committed the crime of negligent arson, and sentenced him to a fixed-term imprisonment of one year with a reprieve of two years; ordered Xie Xjun to reafforest 32.05 ha of woodland ex-situ in three phases to restore the damaged forest and grassland resources in the designated area as per the professionally prepared engineering design before June 2024, or, failing to complete the revegetation before the deadline, shall bear the revegetation costs according to the evaluated sum. The judgement has already taken effect.
[Significance]
This is a typical case of negligent woodland arson arising from the offering of sacrifices to ancestors in nature reserves. The burned woodland lies in Qilianshan National Nature Reserve on the north slope of the Qilian Mountains, where the Tibet Plateau, Mengxin Plateau and Loess Plateau meet. A forest ecosystem nature reserve, Qilianshan National Nature Reserve protects Qinghai spruce, Qilian juniper (Juniperus przewalskii Kom.), demoiselle crane (Anthropoides virgo) and other wildlife, and serves as an important ecological security frontline in West China, an important water source in the Yellow River basin, and China’s priority area for biodiversity preservation. In handling this case, the people’s court investigates into the defendant’s criminal responsibility for negligently causing the forest and grassland fire, shows its clear attitude to punish the crime of damaging environment resources, implements the leniency-severity balanced criminal policy, prioritizes ecological restoration, comprehensively considers the defendant’s earnest efforts to replant trees beforehand as per the engineering design in the designated area, applies reprieve and orders the defendant to bear the ex-situ revegetation responsibility, so as to guide the perpetrator to convert from “forest resources destructor” to “forest ecology restorer”. This case will set a meaningful example for promoting the effective restoration of damaged ecological environment, raising the public consciousness to protect the ecological environment, and earnestly adopting green production and lifestyle.
