CHAPTER 37: CHAPTER 37 UNFORTUNATELY, IT’S NOT CUMULATIVE PUNISHMENT [SECOND UPDATE]

"Second, methods of coercion and threats were used against the victim."

As Sun Chenglin despaired, Shen Dao’s voice rang out again in his ear.

"The video clearly shows that you repeatedly used language, your livestream, and the threat of sending the children to the factory to coerce Li Weiguo’s will, forcing him to give you one hundred thousand yuan!"

"Third, you illegally took possession of the victim’s money. In the video, you accepted the bank card that Qin Mu handed to you."

As Shen Dao spoke, he pointed at Qin Mu.

Qin Mu quickly stepped forward, took out the bank card, and added, "Indeed, there are two hundred thousand yuan inside, all my savings. You can take it for verification."

Seeing Qin Mu so cooperative, lines of exasperation appeared on Shen Dao’s forehead. From the video, he saw everything that had happened. Faced with this situation, Qin Mu very "cooperatively" taking out two hundred thousand yuan was beyond his expectations. Clearly, Qin Mu wanted to help ensure Sun Chenglin and the others spent more time behind bars.

"Wait! Officer, you saw it too, in the video... we didn’t take the money, and we even returned the card to him!" Sun Chenglin and the others quickly defended themselves upon seeing this.

Shen Dao snorted coldly and said, "Although the card was returned, it still constitutes attempted extortion or criminal discontinuance. You may receive a lighter sentence for discontinuance, but it doesn’t mean you’re innocent."

"Therefore, you still committed the crime of extortion!"

Having said this, he took a deep look at Sun Chenglin and the others, his expression somewhat complex.

Actually, these seven illegal and criminal acts by Sun Chenglin and the others... dealing with them was extremely troublesome. Proving each one was incredibly difficult; in his many years of handling cases, he hadn’t encountered many like this. For instance, unlawful entry into a residence was rarely reported. The crime of coercion, relying only on the testimony of one or two people, also couldn’t form a complete chain of evidence. Infringement of the rights to reputation and image was also borderline, prosecutable or not. The offense of inciting public opinion... if they hadn’t livestreamed, this crime wouldn’t exist. The most crucial was the crime of extortion. Without solid recordings or videos, they could completely deny everything. But now... Sun Chenglin and the others had turned this into an ironclad case. At their first meeting, they provided him with conclusive evidence. He had never seen such cooperative suspects before.

"Take them all away."

After pointing out all the "criminal facts," Shen Dao looked at the staff behind him. He instructed them to take Sun Chenglin and the others, who were standing there dazed, to the vehicle.

As for the three children... they were also temporarily taken to the police station. Arrangements would be made for them later.

"You two... come along as well, to make a statement."

After that, Shen Dao turned to Qin Mu and Li Weiguo.

Qin Mu nodded and walked alongside Shen Dao. He expressed his thanks, "Thanks to Captain Shen this time. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have realized they’d committed so many crimes."

Shen Dao’s mouth twitched.

Seeing Shen Dao remain silent, Qin Mu sighed. "It’s a shame. They committed so many crimes, yet they can only be charged with the most serious one, not punished for multiple offenses concurrently." He sounded quite regretful.

After all these events, he had also taken some time to understand the law. For instance, Sun Chenglin and the others committed numerous crimes, but all within the same timeframe. Therefore, the sentencing principle is to go by the most serious crime; they can’t be punished for multiple offenses concurrently. That is to say... they could only be sentenced to a maximum of three years.

"Three years and you’re still not satisfied? You’ve sent their whole family to jail," Shen Dao rolled his eyes and couldn’t help saying.

Qin Mu chuckled and didn’t continue the conversation.

This time, he likewise wouldn’t choose to forgive. For people like Sun Chenglin... they needed a profound lesson to prevent them from acting so lawlessly and recklessly in the future.

「Two hours later.」

Qin Mu and Li Weiguo completed their statements and walked out of the police station.

"Ah, three more have gone in..." Seventy-seven-year-old Li Weiguo sighed; his expression wasn’t exactly cheerful.

He didn’t sympathize with Sun Chenglin and the others, but with their children. Their mothers... had already been sentenced to five years. Barring any surprises, their fathers would likely be sentenced to three years. That meant, for the next three years, they would have no one to care for them.

"Xiao Qin, do you think we’ve gone too far? Those children..."

After walking a few steps, Li Weiguo suddenly stopped and looked at Qin Mu, his expression conflicted.

Qin Mu supported Li Weiguo, but said seriously, "Mr. Li, don’t dwell on it. What we did actually helps those children."

Li Weiguo frowned, somewhat puzzled.

Qin Mu sighed. He then explained, "People like Yang Minghui and Sun Chenglin are either selfish and conceited or lazy and deceitful. Under their influence... what kind of future do you think their children would have?"

Upon hearing this, Li Weiguo lowered his head.

Indeed. What Qin Mu said wasn’t wrong. The ancients said, ’If the upper beam is not straight, the lower ones will go askew’—a truth that has held for thousands of years. ’A red dye comes from proximity to cinnabar; a black dye from proximity to ink.’ While it’s true some can emerge unstained from mud, such individuals are exceptionally rare. Yang Minghui and Sun Chenglin didn’t even give their children the chance to attend school... They even planned to send them to work in factories as minors. With such parents, these children’s lives would only get worse.

"Plus, I just asked Captain Shen, and he said that after the parents are incarcerated, the children will be sent to a nearby welfare institution." Qin Mu patted Li Weiguo’s shoulder.

He continued, "At the welfare institution, at least they have the opportunity to receive state-mandated compulsory education; they can continue to study."

A welfare institution is a state agency. It typically assists orphans who have no parents and cannot care for themselves. Children whose parents are both incarcerated are also eligible for help. The nine-year compulsory education is one of the services provided there.

"Really?"

Upon hearing this, the worry on Li Weiguo’s face gradually eased. His steps became much lighter as they continued on their way. He had supported these children for ten years, and this outcome finally set his mind at ease about them.

「The nursing home.」

In the room.

After returning from the police station, Qin Mu went back to his room. He picked up his phone. He prepared to record his third video.

"Hello everyone, something rather unpleasant happened today. I believe many of you learned about some of it through a certain livestream."

"This video is primarily about that incident."

"In the first video, we helped put three fraudsters behind bars. Today, their husbands actually came to my door with their children."

He faced the camera and briefly recounted the day’s events, without embellishment.

But Sun Chenglin and the others’ actions were indeed outrageous.

"In the end, I chose to call the police directly. After the police officers arrived, they identified the following seven offenses from the video Sun Chenglin’s group was recording for their livestream."

"First, unlawful entry into a residence..."

Then, Qin Mu listed the seven offenses summarized by Captain Shen one by one.

"Here, I want to give special thanks to the police officers for pointing out so many things I hadn’t noticed. As one of the injured parties, I will press charges for all seven offenses and will not be lenient!"

"Currently, the relevant suspects have been detained and are awaiting trial."

With that, he finished recording the video. He also edited in some clips from the video Sun Chenglin and the others had recorded at the time.

It took over an hour to finish editing the video. Then he uploaded it to a certain site.