Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 78 All Fines
The questioning of Wang Hongyi went very smoothly, and she confessed to everything truthfully. She even admitted to visiting the casino multiple times recently.

During the identification process, specifically the photo identification of casino management personnel, Wang Hongyi quickly identified the relevant individuals from among numerous photos, witnessed by street mediator Lin Hui.

The entire interrogation process went exceptionally smoothly, except for one twist: when Chen Shu and Xu Lei finished their interrogation and were packing up the materials, Wang Hongyi suddenly knelt down in front of the police.

She wept bitterly, blaming herself for being separated from her husband and children, and condemning the criminal suspects who ran the casino. She hoped that the police would put them in jail, even if it meant going in with them.

After calming her down, Xu Lei took her to the office on the second floor for temporary detention.

Sitting in the interrogation room, Chen Shu's mind was still replaying Wang Hongyi's tearful account.

"Officer, I'm almost fifty years old. My husband doesn't want me, my son won't see me, I don't even know why I'm alive. Please, please, you must put them in jail! I'd be happy even if it meant sitting in there for a few years!"

According to Zheng Tianyou, his older cousin had never even touched a mahjong tile in the past few decades.

Later, their son graduated from university and got a job in a public institution, which greatly reduced the family's financial burden. Her husband also felt sorry for her working so hard for many years, so he let her stay home and rest, and not have to go out to work anymore.

She was just bored at home and had nothing to do, so she was taken to a casino a few times by her friends, and then she gradually became more and more addicted.

From that moment on, heaven and hell alternated in an instant.

Chen Shu did not interfere with the subsequent interrogation records of Chen Mengke and Wang Boke. However, before starting the interrogation, he gave the two men a little warning and then handed the task over to Xu Lei and an auxiliary police officer to complete the interrogation records smoothly.

These two individuals had also visited the casino multiple times to participate in gambling activities, so they were able to identify the people in the identification records quickly and accurately.

By the time Wang Chongming returned from the last inspection at the scene, Chen Shu had already compiled and handed over the interrogation and identification records of Zheng Tianyou and the other three people.

Wang Chongming, who had just gotten out of the police car and hadn't even had a chance to catch his breath, looked at Chen Shu in shock, because this was solid, irrefutable evidence.

These four transcripts, with their clear focus and logical consistency, are second only in importance to the interrogation transcripts of the three suspects involved in running the casino.

Chen Shu laughed and said, "Brother Wang, it's just my bad habit. As soon as I got my hands on the case, I started handling it according to my own ideas and forgot that you were the lead officer. But don't worry, those three bastards are still on your side."

Chen Shu's investigative strategy was now quite clear. With only two officers, the task force was insufficient, so they had to focus on key targets.

He used the previously completed statements of Zheng Tianyou and three others as an opportunity to entice the remaining individuals to confess and receive leniency, fining them all 500 yuan without detention.

If a dozen or so people are willing to confess, we'll add evidence; if they pretend not to hear, that's fine too. The identification records of Zheng Tianyou and the other three are sufficient.

However, most people are just following the trend; this gambling den has existed for a long time, which is a fact.

Wang Chongming was somewhat puzzled: "There are still a few people who don't admit to participating in gambling or identifying criminal suspects. Are you really going to detain these people?"

According to normal case-handling procedures, if a person who violates the law refuses to admit to the illegal act, they can be dealt with without confession as long as two or more people involved in the case identify them.

Chen Shu took a sip of tea and gestured towards the detention room with his lip: "When they see the others going home one after another, they'll probably accept the 500 yuan fine in the end, before the 24-hour period is up."

"What if they don't acknowledge it?"

"Then go to the branch office and apply for another 24 hours of investigation time."

"What if someone stubbornly sticks to it all the way through?"

Chen Shu was amused by Wang Chongming and spat out some tea: "Let it go, let it go, are you going to keep it with us on duty?" He wiped his mouth and continued: "In this case of gambling, some of the participants will be detained, and some will just be fined. But our evidence is not very accurate right now. It's not the lack of evidence that's the problem, but the unfairness. There will be problems when they come back."

Therefore, either the situation is serious enough to result in full detention, or it will be mitigated with a full fine. We must treat everyone fairly; only then can we truly say we've cleaned our own mess and have nothing to fear from review.

Wang Chongming straightened his back slightly, adopting a posture of attentive listening: "In terms of age, I'm a few years older than you. But in terms of case-handling methods, our Zhongshan Police Station—no, our branch—is probably unique in you. Take the handling of that last mobile phone theft case, for example."

Chen Shu waved his hand, interrupting Wang Chongming.

Various thoughts flashed through his mind, but he suppressed them: "Brother Wang, don't say anymore. If Teacher Zeng hears this, he'll start cursing."

Wang Chongming nodded in agreement.

Handling cases at the grassroots level is like walking along a riverbank; sometimes, if you're not careful, you can actually get your feet wet.

As the lead police officer in the case, Wang Chongming was responsible for handling the later stages of the case and coordinating with the legal affairs team. Therefore, the interrogation records of the remaining three criminal suspects were all handled by Wang Chongming, with Xu Lei assisting.

Chen Shu was responsible for reviewing the administrative penalties imposed on more than 20 gamblers, including the details and logic of all the written records, and ensuring that the signatures and fingerprints on the relevant legal documents were properly affixed.

Even just changing the dates and names on these twenty-odd transcripts and subsequent penalty documents, copying and pasting them all would take a considerable amount of time.

Time flew by, and Chen Shu didn't pay attention to how much time had passed, but it must have been a long time.

After printing out all the documents for this punishment, before informing the violators of the decision, he went to the security office on the second floor where Zheng Tianyou was temporarily detained.

Zheng Tianyou, who had been sitting in his office worrying for a long time, saw Chen Shu walk into the office and immediately stood up.

"Boss, may I leave now?"

Chen Shu walked to the sofa with a smile and sat down, gesturing with his hand: "What, aren't you going to ask your relatives and friends first?"

Zheng Tianyou carefully sat down on one side again: "Can we go now?"

Chen Shu was speechless: "Are you in such a hurry to go home now?"

Zheng Tianyou gave a forced smile: "No rush, no rush. Please speak, sir."

"Old Zheng, we've known each other for a few years now, and you know my personality. When I do things, I believe in four words: equal exchange."

Zheng Tianyou nodded. He knew Chen Shu's personality, so over the years he had been willing to help Chen Shu spread some news in society and do some small things that the police couldn't easily do themselves.

Chen Shu frowned and said, "But this matter is a bit serious today. I just went to ask the leader for instructions, thinking that you four could just be fined and sent away, but guess what happened?"

Zheng Tianyou's chubby face was covered in cold sweat. He leaned forward anxiously and asked, "What did the big boss say?"

“If we release the four of you, we have to release the other dozen or so people. If we only release the four of you and detain the others, what if they cause a scene at the bureau later and complain that our punishment was unfair? We can’t afford to take that responsibility.”

Zheng Tianyou slumped onto the sofa with a thud, his lips pale: "Boss, this, this..."

(End of this chapter)