Legal advice living in China

[Eric33]

My parents used to live in an area of Shanghai but due to a redevelopment scheme they were forced to move out and relocated outside the city. A local resident approached my parents and offered to fight against this in the courts of Hong Kong. They transferred their lifesavings to this resident to pursue the case but after investigation we was informed that there was no lawsuit. The resident was imprisoned and we have tried contacting the Court of Justice to see what happened in relation to the money. However we are unable to receive a response to phone calls or recorded letters. They have paid 2 different lawyers in Beijing, China, to help search for the whereabouts of money but once they approached the Court of Justice they have faltered and said the perpetrator has been sentenced and the execution is completed.

 

My question is, what additional steps can we take to try and recoup the lost savings, what other avenues can we pursue in Shanghai? In the West we have things like Citizens advice, does something like that exist in Shanghai? Why are we unable to get an answer from the court case and what was sentenced, even with legal representation, is this normal?

 

 

[cncorrect]

On 6/8/2024 at 8:36 PM, Eric33 said:

They have paid 2 different lawyers in Beijing, China

You should communicate your needs with the lawyers. See if you can find the verdict on China Judgements Online, https://wenshu.court.gov.cn/.

[zhouhaochen]

I am no lawyer and have no expertise to advice there, but my first thought would be, the re-development happened in Shanghai, why would there be a court case or a lawyer in Beijing involved? My (very uninformed) opinion would be to get a lawyer in Shanghai first. I luckily have never been in the situation but I do not think I would try to challenge any legal process in China without the help of someone who knows that process and has done this before. 

I probably would also avoid international law firms that have lawyers who might have some people working there who only speak English. I would look for a smaller local lawyer who has done similar cases like this before. They probably would not speak English though. 

 

Just some random thoughts though - I have never been in that situation so cannot give any real advice. I am very sorry about all this and I hope you and your parents find a way. It sounds very difficult.