Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 408 PUA (Part 1)

In the sweltering summer heat, the outdoor air was like a sauna, making it impossible for anyone inside to breathe. This was especially true for the special police officers who were training relentlessly; some of them might even have contemplated suicide.

"What can you do in 150 seconds on a normal day? Make a bowl of fragrant instant noodles? Or take out your phone and watch a couple of short videos on TikTok? The time is too short, to be honest, you can't really do anything."

"Viewers, this is 'Yang Says the News,' and I'm your host, Zhang Yang. Today, I'll take you to experience what it's like for Chen Chuan, a sharp-edged soldier from the Zhengming Special Police Assault Team, to run the 400-meter obstacle course in under 150 seconds."

Zhang Yang from Dongzhou TV was dressed today in a beautiful white dress adorned with red plum blossoms, her hair styled in trendy double braids, highlighting her delicate features, with eyes as black as lacquer and thin lips. In real life, she's much the same as on screen—a stunning beauty.

Following Zhang Yang's gesture, photographer Xiao Zhao pointed the camera at Chen Chuan, who was sweating profusely beside him.

"Life is worse than death." Chen Chuan, panting heavily, jolted awake and forced his eyes wide open, declaring with unwavering conviction, "No! Obstacles may torment me a thousand times, but I will love them like my first love!"

In the distance, Xie Chi, deputy instructor of the special police brigade, and Chen Shu stood in the shade under the shed, chatting and laughing.

"Captain Chen, you managed to train even a carefree guy like Chen Chuan, that's quite an achievement, it surprised me."

"What, can't the ones sent down by the Municipal Bureau produce any results?" Chen Shu squinted at the program recording crew from afar, while Chen Chuan, dressed in a handsome SWAT uniform, was clearly smiling happily.

"The dozen or so people that the Municipal Bureau sent to our branch this time have a much worse work attitude at the police station compared to Chen Chuan," Xie Chi said with a smile and a shake of his head.

As a long-standing policy of the Dongzhou Public Security Bureau, dispatching police officers from the municipal bureau to grassroots units to reinforce the front line of law enforcement is intended to support and strengthen the police force at the grassroots level and solve the problem of insufficient police force at the grassroots level. The starting point of the policy is good.

However, the actual results were not significant. First of all, the police officers working in the original municipal bureau were already used to a nine-to-five job with little overtime. Suddenly, they had to work shifts and stay up all night every three or four days. Even though the assigned units made special arrangements not to arrange overtime or standby duty for them, it was still a huge difference compared to before.

Secondly, the assignment period is only one year, after which they will return to their original municipal bureau units. Since the administrative police officers remain with the municipal bureau, the leaders of the assigned units have virtually no control over them. Given their status as municipal bureau officers, their superiors may even provide them with various conveniences.

Therefore, in the end, this policy of assigning officers to lower-level units only becomes a formality. According to the general opinion within the branch office, officers assigned to lower-level units are just grateful if they can help bring the person back to the station after responding to a call.

It's simply impossible to expect them to stay in the office like normal police officers, handling cases, meeting targets, working overtime, and resolving disputes.

The police officer dispatched to Zhongshan Police Station this time was originally an officer from the Municipal Public Security Bureau's Legal Affairs Division, responsible for reviewing criminal cases from various branches. Although he didn't hold a formal position and was still a police officer by rank, he was in charge of assessing cases within his branch and usually interacted with the instructors in charge of assessments from the legal affairs brigades of each branch. The leaders of the police station wouldn't, and dared not, really boss people around in front of such important personnel; they might even deliberately cultivate relationships with them.

Over here, Chen Shu and Xie Chi were chatting when Ma Bowen, who had just finished running the 400-meter obstacle course on the training field, jogged towards the shed.

"Instructor!" Ma Bowen greeted Xie Chi first, then smiled at Chen Shu, "Captain Chen, thank you!"

Chen Shu was taken aback, then realized that the results of the commendation for the dismemberment case must have come out. When he handed the case over to Li Meng after solving it, he only made one request: that the special police brigade receive a third-class merit award. The recipient was Ma Bowen, who had stripped naked and gone down into the sewer to retrieve bones that night.

However, he still went through the motions, smiling as he asked, "Bowen, what are you thanking me for?" Ma Bowen scratched his head: "It's about that case last time. I got a third-class merit. I figured you must have helped report it. I just went down there and grabbed a few things, and I didn't expect to get a third-class merit."

Special police officers are different from criminal police officers who solve cases every day. Because they are either on standby, patrolling and training on weekdays, and when there is a mission, the whole team is usually mobilized, it is extremely difficult for them to be recognized for individual merits. The level of difficulty is even greater than that of police stations.

However, this is also fair, since in terms of workload and pressure, special police officers are indeed less than criminal police officers and public security police officers.

Chen Shu nodded and smiled, attributing the credit to Xie Chi beside him: "Look, the notice says it was for the dismemberment case, but actually it was the brigade leaders who noticed your excellent work performance and took the opportunity of solving this case to put your name on the list. Also, the person who put it on the list wasn't me, it was Instructor Xie."

Ma Bowen was taken aback, then turned to look at the instructor standing next to him, chuckled, and immediately expressed his deep gratitude to the brigade leaders for their guidance and cultivation.

Xie Chi realized that this was a favor from Chen Shu, and he accepted it with a smile. Having been involved in ideological and political work for a long time, he spoke fluently and naturally:
“This commendation is an affirmation of your merits by the organization. It doesn’t mean that you have to be given this because you solved a case or did something. For example, you went down into the sewer to retrieve bones as instructed by Captain Chen. Anyone could have done that, so in principle, your contribution is not that great.”

Seeing Ma Bowen's somewhat dejected expression, Xie Chi smiled slightly and comforted him, "Bowen, you've been with our brigade for over a year since you graduated from the police academy. Although your performance at work is only average, it's understandable that you lack experience after all, as you've just graduated from school."

"However, your work attitude is indeed excellent. You are hardworking and conscientious. Overall, from Captain Li Da to myself, including your squadron leader, everyone is very satisfied with you."

"It's just that you're too young, and what's the saying again? You're too sharp. So sometimes we have to temper your personality and temper a little. You need to know that this is for your own good. You're still young, so work hard. We see what's rightfully yours and remember it."

After Ma Bowen left, thanking him profusely, Xie Chi asked Chen Shu with a hint of curiosity, "Are criminals who commit murder and dismemberment always executed after being caught?"

Although Xie Chi was old, he had worked his way up from a community police officer to the position of instructor in his early years. Obviously, he hadn't handled many cases. At this moment, Ma Bowen aroused his doubts. The person next to him was a veteran case-handling expert in the branch office. So he naturally asked.

"If nothing unexpected happens, it will definitely be the death penalty, not even a suspended death sentence. Premeditated murder, dismembered body parts flushed down the toilet, and human flesh disguised as 'steak' to supply his own steakhouse. The methods are too cruel, and the social impact is terrible. This is a sure way to die."

Xie Chi hesitated for a moment before saying, "I heard that this man contracted that disease from visiting prostitutes in his younger years. He was too ashamed to go to a proper hospital for treatment, and it dragged on for many years. Because of this disease, he has never been able to find a wife, and as he got older, his thinking went astray."

Chen Shu recalled the young man who had volunteered to apply to the police academy. He had experienced a criminal case for the first time in his life, but had to swallow such bitterness. He couldn't help but sigh, "No matter what, we can't transfer our own pain onto innocent people."

Currently, there are only three types of sentences for serious offenders in China: death penalty, suspended death sentence, and life imprisonment.

The death penalty, in layman's terms, is execution by firing squad. Usually, after the first trial, the defendant will appeal, not because they have any hope for a second trial, but simply because they want to prolong their lives and survive a little longer.

A suspended death sentence, officially called a death sentence with a two-year reprieve, does not literally mean execution after two years. Those sentenced to a suspended death sentence are expected to behave well and cooperate with reform efforts during their two years in prison, after which their sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment.

Similarly, life imprisonment doesn't really have no time limit; people usually serve about ten years before being released.

(End of this chapter)