Reborn in 97, I solved a cold case at the Municipal Bureau

Chapter 532 The Living Judge

Zhou Yi probably knew who Wu Yongcheng was talking about.

Wu Guang has an old criminal police officer whose real name is Zhong Ming, but he doesn't know exactly how old he is from 1997.

He had heard about Officer Zhong's situation from a police academy classmate who was assigned to work in Wu Guang in his previous life.

It wasn't mentioned in a formal setting, but rather at a small class reunion.

This student is a local of Wuguang. After graduation, he was assigned to work at a police station in Qingyuan County, Wuguang City.

So Zhou Yi had never met this Officer Zhong and didn't know his exact age, but from his classmate's description, he could tell that he was probably not young.

It is said that Officer Zhong Ming is very famous in Wu Guang and has a nickname: "Living Judge".

He earned this nickname because he was incorruptible and fearless when handling cases.

During his police career, he received a second-class hero model award, a first-class merit award, and several other merits, which can be described as fruitful achievements.

My classmate said that Officer Zhong's famous battle was in 1982, when he single-handedly took down a group of armed thugs and killed two of them on the spot.

The reason he went alone was that on his way home from get off work, Zhong Ming happened to encounter this group of thugs who kidnapped and attempted to gang rape a female student.

To rescue the hostage, Officer Zhong, armed with only a gun, charged straight into the hideout of the thugs, following the female student's cries for help.

Faced with this group of thugs armed with shotguns, he ultimately killed two, wounded four, and wiped out the entire gang.

The victim's life and innocence were preserved.

It is said that Zhong Ming was shot several times during the battle, and doctors removed more than a dozen steel balls from his body.

Then, in 1983, the crackdown began.

During this crackdown, Zhong Ming was promoted to head of the special task force.

Because of his ruthless methods and leading by example, his nickname "Living Judge" became famous throughout Wuguang. Big hooligans and small scoundrels would run away in terror at the mere mention of the name "Living Judge."

When Zhou Yi heard about these things, he felt a little strange.

A second-class hero and model worker, who made outstanding contributions as early as 1983, it would not be surprising if such a person had served as the director of the municipal bureau before retiring.

But I've never heard of this name before.

Besides him, other classmates also raised this question at the time.

The classmate who told the story said that all he knew was that Officer Zhong had apparently made some mistake and received severe internal punishment, which led to the ruin of his career.

What's most heartbreaking is that Officer Zhong, who had made numerous merits, was only a deputy section chief when he retired, and he passed away in depression less than two years after retirement.

So when Wu Yongcheng mentioned the living judge, Zhou Yi immediately thought of the name Zhong Ming.

But of course he couldn't say he'd heard of it, because his previous police experience consisted of only six months at a local police station, so the chances of him having heard the name were slim.

So Zhou Yi pretended not to know and shook his head.

As the two walked out of the restroom, Wu Yongcheng briefly introduced Zhong Ming's situation.

It mentioned his brilliant achievements in the 1983 crackdown and also mentioned that he was awarded the honor of being a second-class hero.

Zhou Yi could only feign ignorance and ask, "Then isn't this Officer Zhong in a high position now? At the very least, he must be a bureau chief, right?"

Wu Yongcheng stopped and frowned slightly, saying, "Unfortunately, no."

"Do you still remember Captain Cao?"

Zhou Yi nodded.

“Cao Anmin used to be Zhong Ming’s deputy. Seven years ago, Zhong Ming was the head of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of Wuguang City Bureau.”

Zhou Yi asked in surprise, "What happened?"

Judging from this, Wu Yongcheng should know what happened, information that Zhou Yi is unaware of.

Wu Yongcheng sighed slightly and said, "In 1990, a horrific rape and murder occurred in Wu Guang. The victim was nineteen years old."

Wu Yongcheng paused for a moment and then said, "It is Zhong Ming's eldest daughter."

Zhou Yi's heart sank, and he hurriedly asked, "Were you retaliated against?"

"Hmm..." Wu Yongcheng took out a cigarette case and handed one to Zhou Yi.

The two began to smoke to relieve their stress and boredom.

Many young criminal police officers who have just started working may not realize this, after all, they are still full of enthusiasm and passion.

But veteran detectives can all empathize with this: the thing a detective fears most is that criminals they personally sent to prison will seek revenge and harm their families after being released.

They're not afraid of being attacked themselves, but when it comes to their family, that's what the police fear most.

When you get hurt, it's just physical pain.

The pain comes not only from the loss of loved ones, but also from emotional distress.

Therefore, every family member of a police officer is a great person.

Without their silent dedication as a strong support, the sword against evil would never be drawn!
"The two criminals who were arrested by Zhong Ming during the crackdown were the ones who retaliated against him."

"These two are cousins; one is a rapist, and the other is a thief. After being released from prison, they conspired to take revenge on Zhong Ming's family, as they both harbored resentment towards him."

“Zhong Ming has two daughters. In 1990, his eldest daughter was nineteen years old, having just graduated from high school and started working, and his youngest daughter was twelve years old.”

As Wu Yongcheng puffed out smoke, the smoke obscured his face, making it impossible for Zhou Yi to see his expression.

However, his voice revealed an undeniable sorrow.

"The two originally targeted Zhong Ming's twelve-year-old daughter."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yi felt a chill run down his spine and cursed, "Fuck you, you bastard!"

"As it turned out, Zhong Ming's wife had taken their youngest daughter to visit relatives that day, leaving only their eldest daughter at home because of her shift work, and then the tragedy happened."

Zhou Yi swallowed hard and asked, "What did Officer Zhong do?"

My classmate from my previous life said that Zhong Ming had made a serious mistake and received internal disciplinary action.

It is clearly related to the case of his daughter being raped and murdered.

But it certainly didn't cause any deaths, otherwise it would be like what happened to me in my previous life, where those responsible would not only lose their jobs but also go to jail.

“At the time, one was arrested, and one escaped. In order to force the whereabouts of the escapee, Officer Zhong used torture to extract a confession, which resulted in the suspect losing sight in one eye.” Wu Yongcheng sighed, “According to regulations, such an incident should result in dismissal from public office. However, considering the actual situation and his past merits, the city and provincial departments all protected him, and in the end, he was not dismissed but instead removed from his post.”

Zhou Yi felt a pang of sadness after hearing this.

Given Zhong Ming's situation, it's entirely understandable that he lost control of his emotions.

It's only natural that any father would be unable to remain calm when facing a suspect after his daughter has been raped and murdered.

The problem is that this accident could have been avoided.

According to regulations, Zhong Ming, as a family member of the victim, should recuse himself from the investigation of the case.

But at the time, he was the head of the criminal investigation team, so who would dare to ask him to recuse himself according to regulations?

As for torture to extract confessions, although it is illegal, it was indeed an objective reality in the past.

Especially in cases like this, where a police officer's family member is murdered, everyone in the police station will feel a shared sense of righteous indignation. After all, by putting themselves in the officer's shoes, they can empathize with the situation.

In the end, things turned out this way because Zhong Ming lost control of his emotions to the extreme, making it impossible to cover things up.

Removal from office is indeed the most severe punishment after dismissal and legal prosecution.

If it weren't for his numerous military medals, and if he weren't truly capable, he probably would have had to take off his police uniform.

"So, Officer Zhong now..." Zhou Yi asked.

"He should still be at the Wuguang City Public Security Bureau. I don't know the specifics. I've only met Zhong Ming once." "Oh, I see." Zhou Yi found it a bit strange. He'd only met him once, so they shouldn't be considered acquaintances. Why would he suddenly bring up this person?

Wu Yongcheng then said, "He was a comrade-in-arms with Chen Yan's father. I met him at Chen Yan's father's funeral."

Zhou Yi suddenly realized.

Chen Yan's father was killed during the 1983 crackdown.

He didn't know much about Captain Wu's past, since the 83 crackdown was 14 years ago, and Captain Wu was only 31 years old at that time. But he figured that Captain Wu must have known Chen Yan's father when he was young.

Therefore, his acceptance of Chen Yan as his disciple must have been due to his father's influence.

Since Zhong Ming and Chen Yan's fathers were comrades-in-arms, they must have talked a lot at the funeral.

Zhou Yi trusted Wu Yongcheng's judgment in judging people. The fact that Wu Yongcheng mentioned Zhong Ming to him meant that this person was definitely trustworthy.

"Captain Wu, I understand." Zhou Yi nodded heavily.

Wu Yongcheng gave a bitter smile with a hint of sadness and said, "When you go to Wu Guang, please give my regards to Officer Zhong."

"must."

"Let's go, Xiao Qiao is still waiting for you downstairs," Wu Yongcheng said, turning around and walking back.

Watching his retreating figure, Zhou Yi suddenly remembered something and asked, "Captain Wu, was the suspect who was on the run apprehended?"

Wu Yongcheng paused slightly and replied with two words: "No."

Zhou Yi took a deep breath: "I understand."

Wu Yongcheng glanced at Zhou Yi thoughtfully, but said nothing, waved the nearly burnt-out cigarette butt in his hand, and left.

Zhou Yi stood in the corridor outside the restroom, also lost in thought.

Because while talking to Wu Yongcheng, he had already dug out the case file of Zhong Ming's daughter's murder from his memory.

The incident occurred on September 6, 1990. The victim was named Zhong Qian, 19 years old, and was a young female worker in a textile factory.

The cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation, accompanied by severe violence and rape.

Within 24 hours of the incident, the suspect Zhang Yong was apprehended.

According to Zhang Yong's confession, he was only an accomplice and only participated in the rape of the victim. The mastermind was his cousin, Wang Qiang, and he strangled the victim to death.

However, Wang Qiang had already fled after the incident and his whereabouts are unknown.

Because Zhang Yong shifted all criminal responsibility onto Wang Qiang, who is on the run, the procuratorate determined, according to relevant legal provisions, that the facts of the crime are currently unclear and that further appeals and trials will be conducted after Wang Qiang is apprehended.

And this wait lasted for ten years.

Wang Qiang was on the run for ten years. Ten years later, in 2000, his mother fell seriously ill and was about to pass away. After learning the news, Wang Qiang, who had changed his name and identity while on the run, returned to Wuguang to see his mother one last time.

That's why he was arrested and brought to a complete end to this horrific rape and murder case.

However, Wang Qiang's confession after his arrest shifted the blame back to Zhang Yong, claiming that it was all Zhang Yong's idea and that Zhang Yong was the one who strangled the person.

Because the two individuals shifted blame and shirked responsibility, and there were no third parties to testify, the prosecution and the court ultimately ruled based on the objective physical evidence at the crime scene, considering their criminal acts as joint crimes.

The two of them got what they wanted, and without distinguishing between primary and secondary tasks, they "shared joys and sorrows".

The reason Zhou Yi hadn't connected this rape and murder case with Zhong Ming before was because Zhong Ming wasn't mentioned in the case files.

Only in Zhang Yong's and Wang Qiang's testimonies did they mention that their motive for the crime was to take revenge on Zhong Qian's father.

It also made no mention of Zhang Yong being tortured during interrogation or losing an eye.

This was likely a deliberate attempt to conceal some information, with the aim of protecting Zhong Ming and his family.

As for Zhong Ming's use of torture to extract confessions and whether he is suspected of intentional injury, these are to be handled separately according to regulations. Moreover, they involve serious dereliction of duty, so the case will not be filed together with ordinary criminal case files.

“It’s 2000, there are still three years left…” Zhou Yi muttered to himself, “I’ll see if I can help Officer Zhong out later.”

Although Wang Qiang will be caught three years later.

But for Zhong Ming, a father, it meant he would have to endure three more years of torment.

Zhou Yi went downstairs and got into the car.

Qiao Jiali didn't ask him anything, nor did she urge him, nor did she inquire about the reason for his slightly heavy gaze.

They visited Dong Lu at the hospital, and Director Sun said that her condition was gradually improving, which made the two of them very happy.

After leaving the hospital, Qiao Jiali took Zhou Yi to the Nanhu Street Police Station. Before he got off work, he went to say hello to Jin Lei and Zhang Ning.

Since the police station was not far from Zhou Yi's home, Qiao Jiali left after dropping him off.

Jin Lei saw Zhou Yi dragging a suitcase and realized that he had just returned from out of town and would be heading to Wuguang the next day.

She patted his back with some concern and said, "I know you're young and strong, but you can't keep working so hard. Your health is the most important thing. Work is never-ending."

Zhou Yi nodded, but inwardly he was smiling bitterly.

Of course I know this principle: there is no end to the work, no end to the cases, and no end to the lives that can be saved.

But now that he has been given a second chance, he is sometimes no longer in control of his own destiny, and many times it seems as if fate is dragging him forward.

After finishing tea in Jin Lei's office, it was almost time to leave work.

Jin Lei said he would drive him home.

On the way, he was still remarking that since the Hongda case ended, things had been much more peaceful lately, and the police officers at the local police station no longer had to receive orders from their superiors to impose martial law so often.

Jin Lei said with some emotion, "Although there were a lot of things to do in the past few months, you know what, the public security is much better now than in the 70s and 80s. You know about the crackdown in 1983? Wow, we arrested so many people back then that the detention centers and prisons couldn't hold them all."

“You were still young then, not even ten years old, so you probably didn’t feel much. Your master and I were both there back then, and some things are still vivid in our memories.”

"Wow, life in our country is getting better and better these days."

Jin Lei smiled and patted the steering wheel, saying, "The future looks promising."

Zhou Yi nodded and said calmly, "Yes, things will get better and better in the future."

Jin Lei's car stopped at the entrance of the No. 1 Steel dormitory area. Zhou Yi waved goodbye to Jin Lei and then pulled her suitcase inside.

Lu Xiaoshuang's things had already been taken out of the suitcase. Apart from Zhou Yi's change of clothes, what remained were some "return gifts" prepared by Lu Guohua and his wife.

On the train back, Lu Xiaoshuang said that her father had thought about it for several days. He was worried that the items would be of poor quality and Zhou Yi's family would not like them, that the items would be too heavy and they would be tired from carrying them on the way, and that the items would be impractical and a waste of money.

Kind people are like that; they think things through from all angles and try to make things as perfect as possible.

Finally, Lu Xiaoshuang inadvertently mentioned that Zhou Yi's mother suffers from trigeminal neuralgia and needs painkillers when the pain strikes.

Lu Guohua immediately thought that the neighboring county was famous for its angelica, which had a thousand-year history of cultivation.

Angelica sinensis can invigorate blood circulation, nourish blood, regulate menstruation, and relieve pain.

In addition, Lu Guohua also bought some other Chinese medicinal herbs, all of which were locally produced.

Moreover, he didn't buy them from pharmacies, but directly from farmers in nearby villages. They were all high-quality products at low prices.

So the suitcase was half full of various medicinal herbs.

These medicinal herbs are not expensive in the Northwest, but they are not cheap if sold in Hongcheng.

The main reason is that the transportation and sales industry chain has not been formed.

"Hey, Zhou Yi's here! Why are you dragging such a big suitcase?" A neighbor greeted him as he walked in.

Zhou Yi carried her suitcase upstairs, walked towards the front door, and called out into the house, "Dad, Mom, Grandpa, I'm home!"

(End of this chapter)