The abbot of the temple had a relationship with a female anchor, and was sentenced in the first instance of the extortion case: the female anchor was suspended, and her husband was sentenced to five and a half years

The case of the former abbot of the Stone Elephant Temple in Chengdu, Sichuan, who was blackmailed after having a relationship with a female anchor has made the latest progress. On June 19, the People's Court of Mingshan District, Ya'an City, Sichuan Province, sentenced the female anchor Cai to a suspended sentence and a fine of 50000 yuan. Her husband Qian was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in prison and fined 100000 yuan.

The picture shows the involved abbot whose ultimatum has been cancelled

On June 19, the surging news learned from the relatives of the female anchor couple involved in the case that after the trial, the suspended female anchor Cai was allowed to go home in court, and left the court with his family after the trial.

Previously, the first instance of the case was heard in the People's Court of Mingshan District, Ya'an City in November 2023, and the prosecution filed a public prosecution against the female anchor couple for extortion. After the surging news reported the case, the case aroused social concern.

The surging news reported earlier that at the end of 2020, Shi Zhaojie, the original abbot of the Stone Elephant Temple, bought mahogany furniture in Cai's studio, so the two got to know each other and kept in touch. Before long, the two sides had relations. However, all this was discovered by Cai's husband, Qian, who used it to blackmail Shi Zhaojie.

In the trial, the public prosecution organ disclosed the course of the case in detail. When Qian found out that his wife and Shi Zhaojie had committed an immoral act, he not only shot a video of their relationship, but also used it as a threat to ask Shi Zhaojie for huge amounts of property. Initially, Shi Zhaojie paid 2 million yuan (including 1 million yuan worth of mahogany furniture) to calm the situation. However, Qian did not give up and continued to use the threat of online exposure to force Shi Zhaojie to agree to pay another 3.2 million yuan. Shi Zhaojie chose to call the police. When the anchorwoman couple got the first batch of cash of 600000 yuan to leave, the police appeared. The couple were later detained for extortion.

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The abbot said that he was blackmailed after having a relationship with a female anchor: millions of people were involved in the case, and the anchor couple were accused

The abbot of the temple, Zhang, had a relationship with the female anchor, Cai, which triggered a blackmail case.

On November 5, 2023, Pangpai News learned from Cai's family that recently, the first instance of the case was heard in the court of Mingshan District, Ya'an City, Sichuan Province. Mingshan District Procuratorate sued Cai and her husband Qian for extortion.

According to the indictment of the Procuratorate in the mountainous area, the female anchor Cai and her husband Qian usually sell mahogany furniture together in the webcast room. At the end of 2020, Zhang met and kept in touch with Cai when purchasing rosewood furniture in the live broadcast room.

Mingshan District Procuratorate accused that on February 24, 2021, Cai came to Sichuan and had a relationship with Zhang in a hotel in Chengdu. Since then, Qian found out that his wife and Zhang had misdeeds, and learned that Zhang was a monk and the abbot of a famous temple in Pujiang, Chengdu. Therefore, Qian asked his wife Cai to meet Zhang in Fujian again.

On April 23, 2021, Mr. Cai invited Mr. Zhang to a hot spring resort hotel in Xianyou County, Fujian Province. Mr. Qian shot a video of his wife, Mr. Cai, and Mr. Zhang having another relationship in the hotel room through the secret photography equipment installed in advance. On July 10, 2021, Mr. Qian and Mr. Cai arrived in Chengdu, and Mr. Cai invited Mr. Zhang to the hotel room. Later, Mr. Qian appeared, showed Mr. Zhang his identity as Mr. Cai's husband, and began to question the misconduct between Mr. Zhang and his wife.

According to the indictment, Zhang did not admit it at first, but after Qian showed the intimate photos of him and his wife Cai in the hotel room, Zhang finally admitted the improper relationship between them. Zhang later proposed to pay 1 million yuan to Cai to settle the matter. Finally, Cai returned to Fujian with her husband after receiving 2 million yuan (including 1 million yuan of mahogany furniture) from Zhang.

In February 2023, Qian went to Sichuan alone to contact Zhang, but Zhang did not respond. Qian also contacted Wang Moudong, a friend of Zhang, and threatened Zhang with online exposure.

According to the indictment, Zhang had no choice but to arrange Wang Moudong and his apprentice Li Moujun to negotiate with Qian. Qian threatened and demanded property through online exposure. After many negotiations, Zhang was forced to agree to pay Qian 3.3 million yuan in installments, and asked Qian to contact Cai to go to famous mountains in Sichuan to jointly issue a letter of understanding to complete the matter.

According to the public prosecution organ, on February 24, 2023, when Mr. Qian, Mr. Cai, Mr. Zhang, Mr. Wang Dong, and Mr. Li were negotiating in a hotel teahouse in Mingshan, Mr. Zhang once again requested Mr. Qian and Mr. Cai to reduce the amount, and Mr. Qian agreed to reduce the amount by another 100000 yuan, immediately pay 1.2 million yuan, and pay 1 million yuan each in the following years (2024 and 2025).

Cai wrote a letter of understanding according to the contents agreed by several people. Zhang transferred 500000 yuan to Qian by bank transfer, and paid 699000 yuan to Qian and Cai in cash. The prosecution said that Zhang called the police because he was afraid of being blackmailed after he paid the money. The police of Mingshan Branch of Ya'an Public Security Bureau arrived at the scene after receiving the police and arrested Qian and Cai.

The procuratorate believed that Qian and Cai extorted 3.2 million yuan of property, of which 1.199 million yuan was a crime accomplished, and 2.01 million yuan was a crime attempted because of failure to actually deliver. Qian and Cai extorted others' property by threatening, and the amount was especially huge. The defendants Qian and Cai should be held criminally responsible for extortion. But in the joint crime, Qian plays a major role and is the principal offender; Cai, who plays a secondary role and is an accessory, should be given a lighter or mitigated punishment.