Binjiang Police Affairs
Chapter 450 - 317: How is there No Jurisdiction?_2

Chapter 450: Chapter 317: How is there No Jurisdiction?_2

Han Yu smoothed out his thoughts and continued, "In the employment arrangement phase, one could imagine that they would arrange jobs, but these are completely different from what was initially advertised and promised. Even when they can’t be outright considered illegal or criminal, we can hardly do anything to them."

It seems that Salted Fish wasn’t blinded by rage.

Shi Shengyong nodded with resignation and said, "That’s why it’s so hard to pin a fraud charge on them."

"Director Shi, I mean if we only investigate one single phase, indeed it’s difficult to ascertain fraud. But if we analyze several phases together, then they are committing fraud. In other words, if each phase can be verified, we could establish a complete chain of evidence, eradicate them at the roots, and transfer the case to the Procuratorate for prosecution."

"Enrollment is handled here, training is done in Gaozhou, and employment is arranged in places like Shenzhen and Wandong. Not only does it span several provinces, it also crosses different regions. This case is difficult to investigate!"

"Director Shi, don’t be fooled by their substandard teaching conditions—the students are recruited in batches, continuously, and can start their courses upon arrival."

"What do you mean?"

"I found out that this fraudulent school doesn’t only offer Industrial Sewing Machine Repair classes, they also have short-term training courses in computing, car maintenance, and mold-making, and even have two-year vocational and three-year college programs. They just don’t attend classes together."

"They recruited a lot of students?"

"We estimate no less than a thousand students a year. Just for something like the Industrial Sewing Machine Repair short-term training, the tuition is 2,200 RMB. Besides the tuition, there are other miscellaneous fees for internships, equipment, school affairs, and so on. Think about it, recruiting a thousand students a year, how much money they make."

"At least two million!"

"I believe it’s definitely more. Director Shi, do you think this case is worth pursuing?"

The Four Factory Police Station was in dire need of one thing—money!

Shi Shengyong was somewhat tempted, but recalling the difficulties of inter-provincial investigation, he wryly said, "Of course there’s potential, but you also mentioned it—they treat this as an industry to be developed, and they practice local protectionism. If we claim they’re suspected of criminal behavior, they’ll deny it’s a crime. How do we handle that?"

Han Yu confidently said, "Whether it’s illegal or whether there’s suspicion of crime ultimately depends on whose voice is louder. It might sound absurd, but in the context of this case, it’s really the case."

"The problem is that our voices aren’t as loud as theirs."

"Who says so? We just haven’t made a sound yet. If we do, it could scare them to death."

"How do we make ourselves heard?"

"Neither you nor I will suffice, but we can ask someone who has a loud voice to do it."

"Ask who?"

"Reporter Wang from Binjiang People’s Radio—he detests evil and specializes in public opinion supervision, he’s the true Crownless King. Moreover, he has attended meetings at the People’s Hall with the Journalists Association, even met central Commanders, and has received major journalistic awards."

Shi Shengyong was already well aware of Reporter Wang’s reputation.

He was one of the most powerful figures in Binjiang, feared by city leaders, yet Shi Shengyong never imagined Salted Fish would have such a connection.

"Director Yu, you know Reporter Wang? Will he help us with this?"

"I got to know him when I first started working. I call him uncle; he’s covered the Eel Fishing Battle before, and when we escorted the shipping company’s fleet, he joined for an interview. When my master passed away, both Ningning and I were there, and he came too."

"You’re that close with him?"

"He greatly admired my master, and my master respected him as well—they were friends. Also, he was once a ’sent-down youth’ in Si Gang, and he’s kind of a fellow villager with my father-in-law. So, whenever there’s an issue in my family, we ask him to come over, and we visit him every year for New Year."

If we really wanted to investigate that fraudulent school, speaking to the director or mayor wouldn’t help, whereas Reporter Wang could be crucial in the nick of time.

Shi Shengyong grew increasingly excited and couldn’t help but smile, "I’ll start by probing who is conducting the recruitment on our side. I’ll figure out how many people from Linghai have been deceived and roughly estimate the financial loss. You look into the school on your side, see if their paperwork is complete, and whether or not they’re illegally operating an educational institution."

Since Director Lin didn’t show any interest, there was no need to be polite anymore.

Constructing a new ship was just facing a financial crunch—it was the perfect time to make a move on them!

Han Yu made up his mind and said with a smile, "Set up another team to follow the vine to find the melon; go to places like Shenzhen and investigate how they arrange student employment."

"By the time we’ve finished our investigation, Reporter Wang should be about done with his as well. Then we can get some serious exposure in the major media. Once we move in to make arrests and confiscate the illicit money, we won’t face any resistance."

"That’s exactly what I mean."

"Let’s do it! I’m going to report to Director Zhou right away."

"I need to report to the leaders of our sub-bureau as well, but ours is a special case—the most our leadership can do is lend me moral support."

"No big input, no big output. Funding is not an issue, I will find a way to secure it."

"Director Shi, there’s one more thing."

"What is it?"

"We’re police; we don’t have the authority to check whether they have the educational operating permits or qualifications."

"What should we do then?" Shi Shengyong asked anxiously.

While signaling Xiao Gong to wait, Han Yu said with a smile, "First, find out roughly how many people in Linghai have been deceived. Then we can report to the Education Bureau. They sent out fake admission notices without the approval of the admissions office, and the Education Bureau must take it seriously."

Shi Shengyong could clearly grasp Han Yu’s implicit meaning and said with a grin, "We could ask the Education Bureau to assign a couple of officials to form a joint investigation team with us. If necessary, we’ll cover the travel expenses, so they can go over and get information from the local Education Bureau. This way, our actions will have legitimate backing!"

"That’s exactly what I was thinking."

"Actually, I don’t need to approach anyone for this."

"Then who should approach the Education Bureau?"

"You."

"Me?" Han Yu asked, puzzled.

Shi Shengyong laughed heartily and said, "This morning, during the town government meeting, the United Front Commissioner mentioned that you were just approved as a Political Consultative Conference Member a few days ago at the CPPCC standing committee meeting. Now that you’ve been appointed, you’ll have to attend the rank assessment and various meetings every year, and besides, the Four Factory has been assigned to you by the CPPCC."

"What does being assigned to Four Factory mean?"

"It’s like a group. When the two sessions aren’t in session, the town organizes meetings for the CPPCC members from Four Factory."

Han Yu asked, still not quite understanding, "Then what?"

"You can submit a proposal. The CPPCC has a committee for education, health, sports, culture, and history. You bring up this issue; so many children have been scammed, especially by fraudsters from other places. The CPPCC will definitely pay attention, and they’ll want to make some achievements. They will help you approach the Education Bureau."

"Will my proposal even be effective?"

"Now that you are a CPPCC member, how could the superiors not pay attention to the issues you raise? Besides, this is not about causing trouble for the city or asking for money. If we do end up seizing fines and forfeitures, the city finance will have additional unplanned revenue. Additionally, this will make our future Joint Investigation Team more formal; at the very least, we can tell the responsible people at the Gaozhou Education Bureau that there is serious public concern on our side, even a CPPCC member has submitted a proposal."

...

PS: These fraudulent schools do actually exist, I have personal experience. When I graduated from junior high and was naive, I was lured there, only to find out upon arrival that I had been duped. But back then, I was just a kid and all alone, so I had no choice but to pay up honestly.

Luckily, on the third day afternoon, my dad came after me and took me back home, although we didn’t get the tuition fee back.

It’s worth mentioning that the local area still treats this as an industry. I don’t know how many people have complained or reported it, and the media has exposed it more than once, but to this day, there are still many such schools there.

So, I am here to remind all brothers and sisters, do not be deceived.