The replica firearms Liu bought online.

Fujian Higher People’s Court made a decision on Oct. 18 to retry the case of Liu Dawei, a weapons enthusiast who was sentenced to life in prison for smuggling firearms.

In July 2014, Liu placed an order on a Taiwanese website for 24 replica firearms at a cost of 30,540 yuan (around $4,600). However, his parcel never reached his home in Quanzhou, Fujian province. Instead, two months later, on Sept. 29, 2014, Liu was arrested for arms trafficking. Police identified 20 of the 24 “replicas" as real guns. On April 30, 2015, Liu was sentenced to life in prison.

Liu Dawei

In response to his conviction, Liu Dawei yelled in the courtroom, “Please shoot me with the guns I bought! I’ll admit to being guilty if I am killed!”

According to the judge, the crime of smuggling more than 20 firearms calls for a death sentence. However, considering Liu’s young age at the time when the crime was committed, the court handed down a lifelong prison sentence instead.

On Nov. 26, 2015, Xu Xin, Liu's lawyer, submitted material for the appeal to Fujian Higher People’s Court, suggesting that the court retry the case.