Binjiang Police Affairs
Chapter 288 - 207: Running Out of Money Again

Chapter 288: Chapter 207: Running Out of Money Again

Yingchuan Port Village resembled a massive construction site.

The main roads were extended in all directions, with factories or buildings under construction flanking them. Some undeveloped areas were enclosed by walls, displayed with big signs from various enterprises and construction units.

Most agricultural lands had been requisitioned, but many residential houses had not yet been demolished.

Villagers in more remote locations rented out their spare rooms to workers of various companies.

Those with better locations, especially along the roads, either opened their own small stores or eateries, or rented them out to open a hardware and building materials shop or a small restaurant.

Come six or seven in the evening, as workers clocked out and seamen waited to come ashore after the locks, the several intersections on Development Avenue, Zhenxing Road, and Binfu Road would teem with people, bustling with an especially lively atmosphere.

After more than a week of water patrols and shoreline visits and inquiries by the police and auxiliary officers, Han Yu had a pretty good grasp of the situation in his jurisdiction.

Indeed, there were numerous security issues on the water.

Along the riverbanks of Kuzi Port River and Bin Qi River near Yingchuan Port, there were sixteen scrap collection points, most of which had not obtained special trade licenses from the security management department.

There were thirteen small boats collecting waste on the river, none of them holding permits for collecting scrap, nor did they have a Seaman’s Certificate.

During the inspection, a batch of "scrap copper" and "scrap steel" and other metals were seized, which were obviously stolen goods, along with two televisions and over twenty bicycles, totaling over ten thousand yuan in value!

Handling cases was more important than inspections.

Ma Jintao and Dong Bangjun were interrogating suspects involved in buying and selling stolen goods at the waterborne security checkpoint, while Han Yu, Jia Yongqiang, and others were conducting interrogations at the squadron.

There were too many suspects, and the detention room couldn’t hold them all, so they were kept in the reception room and the main conference room.

Li Xiaohai, Yuan Peng, and other auxiliary police were responsible for guarding the suspects, not allowing coordination of their testimonies.

Busy and frazzled, Han Yu conducted interrogations while also jotting down notes until his hand was sore.

"Think again, what other distinguishing features did the young man who sold you the bicycles have?"

"He had a small parting, a seventy-thirty split. His hair seemed stiff, despite the strong river winds, not a hair out of place."

Yang Yong had already rested for a while and continued to take notes as he took over the paper and pen.

Han Yu massaged his wrist and stared intently at the middle-aged man squatting in the corner who looked honest but had purchased who-knows-how-many stolen goods, and asked, "Anything else?"

"He had a lot of acne on his face."

"How many and where exactly?"

"Here, here, here, all over."

"Sun Youwei, the bikes you bought have serial numbers stamped on them. We’ll be able to quickly identify the owners and where they were stolen from. You clearly knew those bicycles were ill-gotten, yet you bought them cheaply and sold them at a high price afterward to people ashore. You’re liable for legal responsibility."

"I knew I was wrong, Officer, please give me a chance to mend my ways. I won’t dare do it again."

"Do you really know it was wrong?"

"I really do."

Han Yu glanced sideways at the notes taken earlier and asked coldly, "Besides buying stolen bicycles from the twenty-something youngster with acne we talked about, have you bought any other suspicious items?"

Sun Youwei hurriedly replied, "No."

Han Yu slammed the table with a bang, "It’s late, and you’re still hoping for luck, seems like you won’t give up until you face the music!"

Sun Youwei jumped in fright, and quickly said, "Let me think again."

"Your wife and your son are in the next room, my colleagues are interrogating them separately. If you don’t talk, they will, and if your stories don’t match up, I won’t be so polite."

"It’s not their fault, it’s all on me. I was blinded by greed."

"Whether it involves them or not, we will discuss that later. First, confess what other items you’ve purchased of unknown origin, from whom, how much you paid for them, and who you sold them to after!"

...

Persistently interrogating this way, it was unknown when night had fallen.

Han Yu asked Yang Yong to take Sun Youwei to the detention room, then walked into the instructor’s office with a thick stack of notes to analyze the case with Jia Yongqiang and Ma Jintao, who had hurried back.

"Captain Yu, all four of mine have confessed. Look at this, so much stolen goods!"

"Did you use physical coercion?"

"No, just let them taste the taser."

"How many times have I told you, we can’t use torture to extract confessions! We’re a new unit; the cases we handle must stand up to scrutiny."

Han Yu looked stern, and Ma Jintao, seemed somewhat afraid, quickly said, "I’ll pay attention in the future, I promise not to lay hands on them."

Han Yu had three masters; Li Weiguo, the old pretrial officer, was one of them.

While at Bailong Port, Li Weiguo had emphasized more than once the importance of seeking truth from facts, of prioritizing evidence and investigation and research, not leading, enticing, or directing confessions, and certainly not torturing suspects.

Han Yu took such principles seriously and could not afford to be lenient because the man before him was an old friend and comrade-in-arms; staring intently and seriously, he said, "Not again. If there’s a next time, you’ll be sent back where you came from."

Ma Jintao made a pained face, "I know, I promise not to do it again."

How could one get those guys to confess without giving them a taste of fear?

Jia Yongqiang didn’t think it was a big deal and was surprised that Han Yu would not cut Ma Jintao some slack, quickly changing the subject:

"Captain Yu, Xiao Hongbing confessed that he sold all the wires he bought to a Boss Jiang. This Boss Jiang owns a cement boat of over thirty tons that’s usually docked at Tri-fork Port in Changzhou."

Han Yu gave a meaningful look at Ma Jintao, then flipped through a map to locate Tri-fork Port, and muttered, "Sun Youwei also confessed to selling the scrap steel he bought to this Boss Jiang."