Undercover justice

By Pan Haixia

THIS year has been a great year for Cheng Ming and his private detective agency.
First is the judicial interpretation from the high court saying that evidence gainde by secret videoing or tape recording can be used in court so long as it is not gained by illegal means.
Second came the implementation of the new evidence rule in April which attached more importance to the evidence submitted to the court. If the defendant hasn't sufficient evidence to contradict the facts the plaintill provides, he will just lose the case. Collecting evidence, difficult in others' eyes, is just the stock-in-trade of private detectives.
Even more encourageng news is that the new trade listing issued by, the State Industrial and Commercial Administration has included private detective work.
"It psaaes a strong signal that the country may gradually open up this forbidden area," said Wu Dong, a lawyer from an M&A law firm.
It seems that a new dawn is on the way for private detective agencies, which have been operating secretly for a decade in the corntry.