Binjiang Police Affairs
Chapter 253 - 186 Reporting a Case, Giving Gifts

Chapter 253: Chapter 186 Reporting a Case, Giving Gifts

At four o’clock in the afternoon, the Canal Police Department of Jiangnan Province welcomed four guests from Binjiang City.

Director Lv Zhenhua and Political Commissioner Hong Yu were all too familiar with Yu Xiangqian, the head of the Binjiang City Police Department Water Police Team and director of the Water Police Station, as they always ran into each other at provincial department meetings concerning waterway security.

In principle, having friends visiting from afar should be a joyful occasion, but after Scholar Yu introduced the accompanying personnel, neither Director Lv nor Commissioner Hong could bring themselves to be happy.

Among the visitors were three criminal police officers: Chen Xianfeng, the Deputy Division Commander of the Criminal Investigation Team at the Binjiang City Police Department; Wu Ren Guang, the Criminal Investigation Captain of Linghai County Police Bureau; and Hu Jianrong, the Criminal Investigation Captain of Dongqi County Police Bureau.

With key members from Binjiang’s criminal investigation system at their doorstep, it was clear what their visit was about.

As no one was a stranger, Scholar Yu felt there was no need to beat around the bush and said with a smile as soon as he sat down, "Director Lv, Commissioner Hong, our unannounced visit is both to report a case and to bring a gift."

Director Lv took out a cigarette and subtly asked, "What kind of case are you reporting and what gift are you bringing?"

"There are many cases to report."

Scholar Yu accepted the cigarette and turned to look at Chen Zhi from the investigation team.

Chen Zhi opened his briefcase and took out a thick stack of reports involving several Binjiang city-owned shipping companies and shipping enterprises from various districts and counties of Binjiang, as well as individual boat owners involved in shipping, who had experienced extortion, theft, forced buying and selling, along with assaults and deliberate injuries to crew members in the Binjiang section of the Grand Canal Jiangbei.

He cleared his throat and read out loud, "On January 2, 1988, the 718 fleet of Binjiang County Shipping Company was robbed by over twenty water bandits while moored in the fog at the Zaohe section.

A crew member on duty attempted to stop them but was stabbed in the thigh with a fish spear by the bandits. The fleet was robbed of nearly a hundred tons of coal. The same night, a township fleet from Dongqi County was robbed twice in succession of more than six thousand yuan in cash, and three women were molested."

Indeed, these visitors spelled trouble!

Director Lv gestured to the reception office chief to call the Deputy Director in charge of criminal investigations and lit his cigarette to listen attentively.

"On January 5, 1988, the 647 and 648 fleets of Binjiang’s Third Shipping Company were extorted for five thousand yuan in cash while waiting in fog at the Suqian Cao Dian Section. Their telescopes and radios were also stolen."

One didn’t realize how serious the situation was until it was all added up, which was quite a shock.

The leaders of Binjiang County, Linghai County, and Dongqi County were infuriated and ordered their respective police bureaus to take strong and effective measures to ensure the safety of life and property of shipping enterprises and individuals engaged in shipping, and to do everything possible to recover economic losses.

When they went to report to the city leaders at a city committee meeting the day before yesterday, they collectively addressed the issue.

The city leaders took it seriously, asking for the city bureau to set up a special task force to quickly resolve the issue.

Deputy Division Commander Chen had nothing to worry about and continued to read: "On February 16, 1988, Zhang Chengye, the owner of an individual tugboat from Yuelai Town, Linghai County, was buying pork in the Si Yang Section. A dispute arose over the meat being short in weight, and he got into a scuffle with three men surnamed He who sold pork. The He brothers beat him up, severing Zhang’s middle finger on his right hand with a knife."

"On March 5, the 119 fleet of Binjiang City’s Chonggang District was robbed by over a hundred local villagers when they boarded the boat at Shengzhuang section in Sanbao Town, Huai’an City, waiting to pass through the lock. The robbers made away with about thirty tons of coal and items like lead buckets and flashlights."

"On March 18, the 219 fleet of Linghai County Shipping Company was intercepted by sixteen water bandits five kilometers downstream from the Suqian Lock. The bandits resorted to violence, beating the crew on duty and using shovels to seal the cabin door, stealing over twenty tons of coal and some of the crew’s belongings."

"On the night of April 9, at around eleven twenty-six, a gang of water bandits used old clothes to cover the navigation lights and set up fake light signals nearby, misleading Dongqi County Shipping Company’s 582 fleet to run aground. They then boarded the vessel and, claiming that their fishing nets had been damaged, began extorting money..."

As each case was recounted, it provoked outrage.

After a while, Chen Zhi could no longer continue reading and simply placed the thick stack of brief case reports gently in front of Director Lv and Commissioner Hong.

Scholar Yu opened the document and took out two files, saying helplessly: "Director Lv, these are directives from our city leaders and our city bureau, and this is our city bureau’s request for your bureau’s cooperation."

The two men before them were at Director level!

It felt surreal to sit opposite to them as if in a negotiation, Wu Ren Guang just realized the unusualness when Chen Zhi nudged him.

Startled, Wu Ren Guang quickly took out a document from his bag: "Report to Director Lv and Commissioner Hong, this is the directive from our Provincial Department Secretary Chen."

The water bandits knew how to pick their targets, targeting the wealthier state-owned shipping companies with the most brutal robbery.

In other words, the most seriously affected were Linghai, Dongqi, and other counties.

Hu Jianrong, the Criminal Investigation Captain of Dongqi County Police Bureau, took a moment to recover and also took out a directive from the county leadership.

With the heads of several counties incensed and even the Binjiang city leaders alerted, this was no small matter. If the local police did not show a stance, the visitors might very well go straight to the province with their complaints.

As Director Lv was wondering what to say, Scholar Yu looked up again: "Director Lv, what’s listed on the materials are only the incidents that have happened to shipping enterprises and individuals in Binjiang City, as well as in Chonggang, Linghai, and Dongqi districts and counties. The other districts and counties are still tallying, and we should have preliminary statistics on similar cases within a week at the latest."

This is just two years’ worth, and only covers a small part of the district counties.

As the head of the Canal Police Department, Director Lv despises the water bandits and river bullies more than anyone, but there are only so many officers in the department, and the waterways they are responsible for are so long.

Over four hundred kilometers, almost enough to cross an entire province, how could the Canal Police Department alone manage it all?

The public security on the Grand Canal Jiangnan Section is much better, and that’s because the local economy is booming, the people living by the river have ways to make money, unlike those in Jiangbei who mostly lack education and ways to earn a living. Seeing others making a living off the water, they too take risks and become desperate.

More importantly, the local governments are out of funds, therefore, the local police force is short-staffed, unable to crack down on the bandits and bullies on the roads, let alone on the canal.

Unlike in Jiangnan where several municipalities’ Water Police Divisions have the manpower and funding to organize forces to combat maritime crime, ensuring the security of the canal.

Director Lv was just about to share his difficulties when Political Commissioner Hong asked in a low voice, "Director Yu, you just mentioned something about giving gifts, what’s that about?"

"You two might not be happy to hear this, but the water bandits in the Jiangbei section of the canal are rampant. Linghai County Shipping Company has suffered greatly from their extortion and it has also affected the coal supply for the entire county. The Linghai County Police Bureau, in coordination with our Water Police Station, is now organizing forces to escort the fleet."

Scholar Yu paused, then continued: "The first batch of ships set sail yesterday at noon, consisting of two tugboat fleets and twenty-one individual engine boats. One fleet is transporting sand northwards, while the other is transporting corn.

Comrade Xu Sanye, a member of our Water Police Station party committee and also the Captain of the Linghai Water Police Team, is the overall commander of the escort for the first batch of ships. They do not wear uniforms or use police lights, and sail normally like any other fleet.

If they encounter any water bandits or river bullies engaging in extortion, theft, or even robbery, they will take resolute and decisive measures. Once they have the bandits under control, they’ll transfer them to you two nearby for further investigation, I’m not sure what you two think about this."

In the past, Scholar Yu was all alone like a lone commander. Every time he went to the provincial meetings related to waterway security, he would sit in a corner.

He always felt awkward when it was his turn to speak.

He had no team, no work could be carried out, and there wasn’t anything to report. Without any subordinates, the lone commander had no confidence.

However, time changes everything.

Scholar Yu first took the opportunity of a large number of boats entering the Yangtze River for illegal eel fishing this spring, and turned the Water Police Station, which only had a signboard, into a real one.

Then, by spearheading the crackdown on the water bandits and bullies on the Yangtze, he made a big splash and gained a lot of attention.

One should see a person in a new light after a lapse of just three days.

Director Lv was very clear that he could no longer ignore Scholar Yu and subconsciously asked, "Armed escort, waiting for the bandits to fall into the trap?"

"The city and the leaders of several counties take this matter seriously, so we must do something."

"The first batch is currently on its way, so does this mean there will be a second and a third batch?"

"Director Lv, this time our city and county police bureaus are determined to deliver results for all the shipping companies and crew members of the city. Considering the sources of goods, the timing of the locks, and the loading and unloading at docks, we will organize three batches of ships to be escorted over the next month."

Scholar Yu paused again, then said proudly: "The overall commander of the escort for the first batch of ships is our Comrade Xu Sanye from the station’s party committee, the second batch will be led by our Bureau Political Commissioner Wang Wenhong, and the third batch will be led by Deputy Division Commander Zhou Hong from our Water Police Station."

It’s a bit embarrassing to let others intervene in public security issues within one’s jurisdiction.

But the situation on the water is different from that on land. To truly improve the security of the canal, relying on just the Canal Police Department is far from sufficient, and even relying solely on the police system is unable to fundamentally solve the problem. It requires the high attention of the party committees and governments of all the municipalities and counties along the river.

Director Lv pondered for a moment and felt it was not such a bad idea for Scholar Yu to stir the waters.

"Laugh if you will, but every time we have a meeting and the issue of poor canal security and rampant water bandits come up, what comes to mind first for the superiors, journalists, and even the public, is our Canal Police Department."

Director Lv took a deep breath and continued: "But you, Director Yu, are aware of the situation in our department. A four hundred and four-kilometer-long waterway, if there’s no support from the local police and even local governments, it’s no use even if we have more than a hundred officers; another hundred would still not suffice."

"I know, I understand."

Scholar Yu turned to look at Chen Zhi, Wu Ren Guang, and others, and sighed: "To maintain the security of the Yangtze River, relying on our Water Police Station alone is not enough, we also need the support of the district and county police departments along the river, as well as the assistance of our colleagues from the municipalities and counties of Jiangnan."

"Understood, long live understanding."

Director Lv nodded, speaking very earnestly and sincerely: "Regarding the situations you four have just discussed, I can’t guarantee anything, but I can represent the Canal Police Department’s party committee and state two positions.

First of all, I’d like to thank Binjiang City Bureau and the district and county police bureaus for organizing forces to come and help us fight the water bandits and river bullies, and we welcome your arrival.

Secondly, whether this armed escort captures a batch of water bandits and river bullies or not, and regardless of whether the captured include those who have committed crimes against Binjiang shipping companies before, we will organize forces and fully investigate the cases listed by Chen Zhi!"