Chapter 215: Let's talk about the plot again

Let's talk about the plot again.

Let's talk about the plot again.

Actually, it's not really about the plot; yesterday, a reader felt that I had a misunderstanding of the elements of a crime and that the book was going to collapse. The main point of contention was the crime of Extortion, so today let's talk about this relatively old charge.

First, I must state that when I worked in the legal profession, I dealt exclusively with Civil Law and had very little contact with Criminal Law, so it is normal to have oversights. It really won't lead to the book collapsing; many of the readers are legal practitioners, so if there are oversights, I can just revise them.

The second point is the crime of Extortion. There is no need to discuss the subject; the main issues are the subjective aspect, the object, and the objective aspect. Looking at the chat logs written previously, that reader believed it was a demand for medical compensation, but if you look at the chat logs, there are actually two parts. The first part was a threat of a Lawsuit to demand medical expenses, which Guan Yan did not pay. The second part was a threat saying, "This is a crime, I am going to call the police." Here, threats and coercion were used. In this instance and thereafter, Guan Yan gave the money. Did this objectively constitute Extortion?

The third point: when we judge the subjective aspect of a crime, we cannot judge it purely by what the person says. In this case, when Zhang Guohua chatted the first time, he said the medical expenses were over five thousand, so he wanted five thousand. Yes, it looks like he just wanted medical expenses, but as I wrote later, he only spent a little over one thousand. Therefore, there is a problem with this subjective aspect. He knew full well he only spent a little over one thousand, yet he demanded five thousand. What does the excess part count as? Is it not Extortion carried out with the intent of illegal possession?

The fourth point: in the previous content of this book, when the protagonist reported a crime, he was given a Notice of Case Filing after an on-site review. Here, however, when Guan Yan reported the crime, she was given a Report Receipt. This means that the police officers could not determine the situation just by looking at the chat logs and needed to conduct a detailed investigation before deciding whether to initiate a Criminal Case.

The fifth point is the object. The object of the crime of Extortion is a complex object; it does not only include property rights but also endangers personal rights and other rights. This is the difference between this crime and crimes like fraud or theft, and it is a significant feature of this crime. This is the exact wording from the textbook on Criminal Law. If we apply this to this case, look: he threatened to call the police, threatened to make her suffer the consequences, and threatened to send her to prison. Does this not endanger other rights?

I have explained it roughly. Perhaps it has to do with me not setting up the plot well earlier; my outline is indeed not very complete, but the detailed outline for every small plot point is finished before I write it. This time, it is not a straightforward report and arrest, but rather an attempt to reflect the investigation process of the Public Security Department. I am just chatting about it; there are definitely oversights, but please rest assured, I will accept any feedback that should be accepted.

One final word: for any case, it is perfectly normal to have different understandings. If you look at those cases online, many famous Lawyers have disagreements in their analyses. If everyone had the same idea, there would be no way to defend a case. A case can always have points of contention; this is the instinct of many legal practitioners.

(End of chapter)