Recently, Haikou Maritime Court has transferred a case in which two individuals, Yang and Huang, were suspected of defying their obligations under a judgment. Haikou Public Security Bureau Meilan Branch has reviewed the case and decided to open a case for criminal investigation. This has acted as a strong deterrent for defiance of enforcement.

The enforcement applicant had been in dispute with the judgment debtors, Yang and Huang, under a contract for ship operation loans. Haikou Maritime Court had entertained the enforcement case and duly served an enforcement notice and an order to report property on the judgment debtors, ordering them to repay the loans to the enforcement applicant. Repeatedly urged by the court, the judgment debtors not only refused to report their property, but also defaulted on their obligations set out in the effective judgment. The enforcement judge conducted an in-depth investigation in the fishing village where they lived, and found that Yang owned a fishing boat which had been in operation and the value of which was sufficient to satisfy the enforcement applicant’s claims. This meant that the judgment debtors were able but refused to satisfy their obligations. To make things worse, after the court had taken measures to arrest the boat, Yang and Huang privately resold the boat to a third person but did not use the proceeds to repay the loans in dispute. The judgment debtors’ act had severely obstructed the court’s normal enforcement procedures. Such serious defiance of enforcement was suspected a crime.

Haikou Maritime Court thus duly transferred the files of the case to the public security authorities for investigation. Haikou Public Security Bureau Meilan Branch received and carefully reviewed the files, and has recently decided to open a case for criminal investigation.