Chapter 11: Li Mo: No, Are You Done Yet?
Li Mo truly wanted to curse aloud, but he had already been warned once, and if he were warned again the fine would be fifty, and in serious circumstances he could be removed directly from the hearing.
With no other option, he could only force himself to calm down.
He raised his hand and spoke.
"Presiding Judge, I object to opposing counsel's argument."
"When a customer is inside the bank, the bank has the right and responsibility to safeguard the customer's safety and privacy, and if the bank's customer has not yet left the bank, then the money must naturally be counted as falling under the bank, because the loss suffered by a robbed customer must be borne primarily or entirely by the bank, and according to the allocation of responsibility, if the customer has not left the scope of the bank lobby, then the money naturally counts as the bank's."
"There is no need at all to distinguish whether what was robbed belonged to the bank or to the customer, because whether the robber took money from the bank or from the customer, within the bank lobby it all belongs to the bank's property."
Li Mo stared fixedly at the plaintiff's counsel table, full of resentment toward Su Bai.
Su Bai smiled indifferently and raised his hand to apply to speak.
"Presiding Judge."
"With regard to Nandu Bank's position that if a customer is robbed in the bank lobby and has not left the scope of the bank lobby, then the property loss falls within the bank's responsibility, and therefore the customer's money also belongs to the bank's property, I raise an objection."
"Presiding Judge, this is a lawsuit from half a year ago, and the case concerned a bank customer who withdrew money from the bank, and the moment the money was placed in hand, the customer was targeted by a robber who had been waiting for an opportunity, and the robber took the customer's one hundred and fifty thousand yuan, after which the robber was later apprehended, but by then the money had already been spent and the person had no money to return."
"Accordingly, the customer who had withdrawn the money sought compensation from the bank and filed suit against Nandu Bank, but the bank argued in its defense that once money leaves the counter it bears no responsibility and that the party had failed to safeguard the property properly, which ultimately led to the customer losing the case."
"Is this what Nandu Bank calls protecting the safety of customers' property within the bank lobby? Is this what Nandu Bank means when it says that before leaving the bank, the customer's money is protected by the bank and the loss is borne by the bank?"
"On this point, we maintain a position of denial."
"Presiding Judge, we request that the customer from that earlier withdrawal case appear as a witness."
Yu Caixia nodded slightly.
'Bang!'
The gavel fell.
"The plaintiff's counsel requests the witness to enter the court, approved."
After those words, the bailiff led into the courtroom a middle-aged woman who appeared to be approximately forty or fifty years old.
The moment the woman entered the courtroom, she stared directly at Li Mo.
For some reason, Li Mo suddenly had a bad premonition.
From the bench, Yu Caixia read out the witness's information.
"Witness entering the court, name Wang Min, age forty-six, is your identity accurate?"
Wang Min nodded forcefully. "Presiding Judge, I am Wang Min, and my identity is accurate."
After confirming her identity, Yu Caixia continued, "The witness's identity has been verified, please describe the relevant circumstances."
After hearing these words, Wang Min seemed to find an outlet for release, and her voice became thunderous.
"Half a year ago I deposited a sum of money in Nandu Bank, and maybe in Nandu Bank's view it was not much, only one hundred and fifty thousand yuan, but that was the betrothal money that my husband and I had worked hard for several years to prepare for our son, and just after I withdrew it, one damned…"
"Oh, sorry, Presiding Judge, I should not use foul language, I mean the offender."
"One offender robbed my husband and me of the money we had worked for over several years to save, and by the time the person was found the money was already gone."
"We followed the lawyer's advice and sued the bank, but the bank refused on the grounds that once the money left the counter it bore no responsibility and that I had failed to safeguard it properly, and I even lost the case!"
"Today happens to be the right occasion!"
"I just want to ask, Nandu Bank, what exactly do you mean by this, is this not a double standard?"
"When I was litigating against you, you said that once the money left the counter you bore no responsibility, but now that you are being sued, you say that if a customer is robbed inside the bank lobby, the loss of the customer's money must be borne primarily or entirely by the bank, and according to the allocation of responsibility, if the customer has not left the scope of the bank lobby, then the money naturally counts as the bank's."
"Then should you not return my hard-earned money? Should you not?"
"Damn you, Nandu Bank, return the money!"
At first Wang Min had been able to narrate calmly, but the more she spoke the more agitated she became, and in the end she began shouting insults directly, and they were exceedingly harsh, so much so that even the bailiff standing nearby could not restrain her.
Discussion began both in the courtroom and among those watching the live broadcast.
'Looking at it this way, Nandu Bank really is applying a double standard, on the one hand it says it is the victim, on the other hand it is itself the perpetrator!'
'Well, encountering Nandu Bank really is unfortunate, I seem to remember that other banks are not this outrageous, are they?"'
'Not sure, everyone can leave comments here and just note which banks to avoid."'
In both the courtroom livestream and the channels rebroadcasting the trial, many people voiced their criticism.
Inside the courtroom.
Seeing that the witness was somewhat unable to control her emotions, Yu Caixia struck the gavel.
"The plaintiff's witness is requested to control her emotions, insulting the defendant in court is not permitted, this is your first warning."
Upon hearing the presiding judge's voice, Wang Min's emotions were immediately brought under control.
"I am sorry, Presiding Judge, I failed to control my emotions in court, I am sorry."
"Mm." Yu Caixia's expression did not change in the slightest. "Plaintiff's witness Wang Min, have you finished your testimony?"
"Replying to the Presiding Judge, I have finished."
"Bailiff, escort the plaintiff's witness out of the courtroom."
After Wang Min left the courtroom, Yu Caixia looked toward Li Mo.
"With regard to the plaintiff's witness's statement that Nandu Bank failed to perform its duty to protect customers' property safety in the lobby, does the defendant Nandu Bank wish to provide any supplementary explanation regarding the circumstances at that time?"
Li Mo clenched his fists tightly and forced himself to calm down.
For him, this lawsuit was truly unbearably torturous.
He even had the feeling that he might not win.
After letting out a long breath, he finally settled down.
"Presiding Judge, the plaintiff's witness just now insulted Nandu Bank directly in court, and therefore I have doubts regarding the plaintiff witness's mental state, so I believe that what the plaintiff's witness said in court is insufficient to serve as courtroom evidence."
After Li Mo finished speaking, he noticed Su Bai on the opposite side with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, and suddenly a bad premonition arose in his heart.
Just as Yu Caixia was considering whether to approve Li Mo's request, Su Bai raised his hand.
Yu Caixia noticed this and asked, "Does the plaintiff's counsel have something to say, or something to add?"
Su Bai smiled slightly and raised the materials in his hand, and upon closer inspection there appeared to be more than ten pages.
Li Mo looked at Su Bai in confusion.
Su Bai smiled at Li Mo and then spoke, "Presiding Judge, we agree to the request made by the defendant's counsel."
"However, we still have several additional witnesses who can testify against Nandu Bank for failing to protect customers' property safety inside the bank."
The courtroom personnel: ?????
Li Mo's brows nearly locked together: ?????
No, are you done yet?