Police officer Chen Shu.

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 lock them up! I'd be happy even if it meant sitting in there for 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 their identification of the people in the identification records was quick and accurate.

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. I started handling the case according to my own ideas as soon as I got my hands on it, and forgot that you were the lead officer. But don't worry, those three bastards are still on your radar."

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 more evidence; it doesn't matter if they pretend not to hear. 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 deny participating in gambling and 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 admit it?"

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

"What if someone stubbornly insists on sitting there until the end?"

Chen Shu was amused by Wang Chongming's remark and spat out some tea: "Let it go, let it go. Are you suggesting we keep it to keep us on duty?"

He wiped his mouth and continued, "In this case of gambling, some of the participants will be detained, while others will only be fined. However, our evidence is not very accurate right now. The problem is not the scarcity but the inequality. There will be problems when they come back to us."

So either the cases are serious enough to result in full detention, or they're leniently punished with fines. We need to 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 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 Instructor 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 if you just change the dates and names, copying and pasting all of these twenty-odd transcripts and subsequent penalty documents would take a lot 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 he finished printing out all the documents related to the punishment, before notifying the offenders of the decision, he went to the security office on the second floor where Zheng Tianyou was being 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: "Why, aren't you going to ask your relatives and friends first?"

Zheng Tianyou carefully sat down halfway back on his bottom: "Can we go now?"

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

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 my superiors, hoping to just fine the four of you and let you go, but guess what happened?"

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

"If we release the four of you, we'll 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 station 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..."