Background
Our client, who runs a petroleum sales business, sold kerosene to a customer who said it was "for a boiler." The customer instead used it as fuel for their dump truck, and when this was discovered our client, the seller, faced punishment for violating the Petroleum Business Act.
What Was at Stake
Amid tightened enforcement against counterfeit and illegal petroleum, the issue was whether our client — who had sold kerosene normally, trusting what the customer said — should also bear responsibility. It was an unjust position for our client to be in.
How Changchun Helped
Changchun made a comprehensive showing that our client had simply sold in the ordinary course, trusting the customer's account of the intended use, and had neither known of nor taken part in the illegal use.
The prosecution issued a non-indictment decision for insufficient evidence. The case shows how important it is, when a counterparty's lie unexpectedly creates criminal exposure, to organize the circumstances thoroughly and respond from the outset. (Outcomes depend on the facts of each case and may differ.)