Chapter 364: I Just Wanted to Resign, But Everyone Who Could Sign the Papers

It was clearly her own phone that had been smashed, yet the other party had said "congratulations," leaving Wu Qiuling unsure whether to cry or laugh.

But since someone had already given her advice, why not... give it a try?

Truth be told, for a goody-two-shoes like her, being handed a resignation Notification Letter and then arguing with company leadership while recording on her phone was already quite thrilling; now, having to call the police... that was fine too.

Everyone has a first time for everything in life.

She took out another phone to save the recordings, then immediately began to call the police.

After the person on the other end clarified the situation, they told her that they had already notified the nearby police officers, who would arrive soon.

She hung up the phone and, following the instructions of that Mr. Huo Pengfei, began to look for the receipt for her phone purchase.

Since it was bought online, it was naturally an electronic invoice, which she found quickly.

Then, Xiao Wu Guniang sat at her workstation with a natural expression and began to work; in the words of that Mr. Huo Pengfei, resignation is one thing, but work is another—they had always been model Employees, so even if she were leaving tomorrow, the work that needed to be done today had to be finished!

Other Employees in the Company were secretly watching her, likely shocked that the Employee considered the most "obedient" in the Company was actually arguing in the leadership's office.

Amidst this strange atmosphere, accompanied by the sound of footsteps, everyone saw two police officers walk in.

What was going on? The police had come directly to the Company?

Just as everyone was whispering, the slightly older police officer, Fang, walked up and said, "Who called the police?"

Wu Qiuling raised her hand: "Officer, I called the police."

"What happened? You said your phone was smashed by your HR Manager?" Fang stepped forward and asked.

Holy crap! The surrounding Employees were instantly interested; such an explosive event!

"It's like this, look at this, it's been smashed into such a state."

Looking at the fragments, Fang frowned and asked again: "Where is your Manager?"

"In the office."

"Call him out!"

Someone went to call him quickly; inside the office, President Xiang was chatting with Manager Xu, and he froze upon hearing this.

"Called the police? Xiao Wu called the police? The police are already here? What is this, playing the fool!"

Since the police had already arrived, there was nothing they could do but walk out one after the other.

"You are Manager Xu? This Employee of yours reported that you had a dispute with her just now because of a resignation Notification Letter, and during the dispute, you snatched her phone and smashed it directly. What is going on here?"

Manager Xu glanced at President Xiang and then said: "That's not it, Officer. I didn't intentionally smash her phone; she was holding the phone to film us, and when I told her to delete it, she wouldn't, and then I accidentally smashed her phone."

"No, Officer, he snatched it directly and smashed it on purpose. He even said at the time, 'Not deleting it, huh? Then I'll smash it!'" Xiao Wu Guniang said hurriedly.

Fang didn't speak, but Manager Xu had already shouted: "Xiao Wu, speak with a conscience. When did I ever say such a thing? That phone was clearly smashed by you accidentally; when did it ever become me smashing it on purpose!"

"And you were filming and recording me and President Xiang without permission; that is already an infringement of our Privacy Rights. I told you to delete it and you wouldn't, and now you're turning the tables!"

Behind Manager Xu, President Xiang also spoke up: "Officer, they were just in my office, and it was indeed smashed by accident. Manager Xu wouldn't just smash someone's phone for no reason."

Xiao Wu Guniang stared at him blankly, thinking that while many people want experience, many others don't.

Clearly, she had never realized that someone could be shameless to this degree, telling lies without changing their expression.

Fortunately, she had listened to Guo Jie earlier and prepared for everything with a backup plan.

Fang looked at Xiao Wu Guniang; it was now clearly necessary to figure out what had happened, as intentionally smashing something versus accidentally breaking it were two completely different concepts.

Such police responses depend on the situation; Manager Xu had President Xiang as a witness, but Xiao Wu did not, so she had to provide proof.

Other colleagues were also watching Wu Qiuling and whispering.

However, Xiao Wu Guniang's face was now devoid of expression, and she reached out to pull out another phone.

"Officer, I have a recording of all the conversations after I entered the office, including what President Xiang said after he smashed my phone; all of it can prove that the other party did indeed intentionally smash my phone."

As soon as the words left her mouth, the two men opposite her changed expressions in unison.

They couldn't have dreamed that this person would be carrying two phones—one filming openly, and one recording secretly.

Manager Xu also suddenly realized, no wonder she had asked that earlier!

Some people are very repulsed by Xiao Wu Guniang's behavior of recording audio and video, believing that everyone has moments where they speak without thinking, and if you do this, who will dare to speak in the future.

But, one must distinguish the situation for audio and video recordings; some are used to protect oneself.

Xiao Wu Guniang had already started playing the recording.

The dialogue inside was very clear, and one could tell immediately; President Xiang's face began to turn dark because he had just said earlier that Manager Xu smashing her phone was for her own good...

Fang listened slowly until the end, then looked at Manager Xu and said: "What do you have to say now?"

Human testimony, or what we call Verbal Evidence in evidence law, actually has a lower priority in a Criminal Case than physical evidence, which is called Physical Evidence in evidence law.

They have a recording, and it is very clear from the recording that you, President Xiang, are actually on the same side as this Manager Xu, so in this situation, your testimony is a bit problematic.

Manager Xu's forehead began to sweat; looking at Fang's dark face, he hesitated and said: "This, Officer, I had no choice just now. She was filming content, and I told her to delete it but she wouldn't, so I had no choice and smashed her phone."

"But I absolutely had no malice; I just believed that what she was doing infringed upon the Portrait Rights and Privacy Rights of myself and President Xiang, so I had to make her delete it."

"But her purpose in doing so was to gather evidence, and if she hadn't done that, wouldn't you have fooled her today!" Fang said with a serious face.

"Not to mention, how did she infringe upon your Portrait Rights and Privacy Rights? Do you need me to tell you about the provisions of the Civil Code?"

"By the way, Miss Wu, how much did you buy your phone for?" Fang asked.

Xiao Wu Guniang, as if she had known this would happen, took out the electronic invoice from the other phone and said: "Officer, this is what I bought with three months of salary, over 5,800."

What? Fang's face became even more serious; he stepped forward to look at the electronic invoice again and again, finally confirming that the purchase price of the phone was indeed over 5,800.

Suddenly, the old police officer's look at Manager Xu changed, and he signaled with his eyes for his apprentice to go to Manager Xu's side.

"Alright, Manager Xu, is it? And this Miss Wu, come back with us; this matter of yours needs to be investigated thoroughly."

Wu Qiuling naturally agreed; she now completely believed the words of that Lawyer Huo. Sure enough, what she did was not an infringement, and the other party's liability seemed quite significant.

Hearing this, Manager Xu became anxious; according to his understanding, it was just smashing someone else's phone, so wouldn't it be enough to just pay her for a new one? Why did he have to be taken away?

So he hurriedly looked at President Xiang.

President Xiang was a bit worried; after all, Manager Xu was very loyal and had always been helping him, and everyone in the entire Company knew about this.

If she were taken away right in front of him now, his prestige would be gone from then on.

Therefore, he hurriedly said, "Comrade, Comrade, wait a moment. That's not right, is it? She clearly filmed us, so according to your words, does that mean it's fine for anyone to film others at will from now on?"

Fang's brows furrowed.

This is also a problem that many people encounter when debating with others online.

They won't care about you analyzing specific cases specifically, or things like the Fault Liability Principle, the No-Fault Liability Principle, or the Fair Liability Principle.

Anyway, once they see you say that filming people with a mobile phone in a certain case isn't against the law, they will say, "Eh, according to your words, then those people filming others with mobile phones aren't breaking the law either, right?"

Or if you say that filming people for profit is against the law, they will say, "Then according to what you said, couldn't all those people filmed by Anchors during live streams file a Lawsuit?"

And then... one becomes very speechless. Why is it that people who understand a little bit of law generally don't want to argue these things with others? Because even if you argue, the other party might not understand.

Just like the infringement of Privacy Rights, what applies is the Fault Liability Principle.

It doesn't matter when you are just running your mouth, but once you really go to Court, the Court will investigate to see if your behavior involved fault.

"You also have a problem, right? Alright then, come back with us. I'm a bit busy and can't attend to it, but my colleagues can answer this question for you," Fang said.

Xiang Li immediately shut his mouth; anyway, he only needed to state his own stance.

As for going back with them, that was better left forgotten...

"You think I'm joking with you? You also have to go back to give a statement!"

What? Xiang Li was equally dumbfounded. I have to go along too?

If this mobile phone were less than five thousand, then it would be easy to handle, but now it exceeds five thousand—it's almost six thousand—so this Xiang Li has to go along.

Those words just now were not simply casual remarks.

Perhaps in his own view, he was speaking up for Manager Xu, but one must note that Intentional Damage to Property exceeding five thousand yuan is enough to constitute a crime.

And if a witness, in the process of testifying, let alone by any form—including but not limited to oral statements—provides false testimony sufficient to allow the criminal to evade Criminal Case punishment or receive a lighter sentence for a serious crime, what kind of behavior is this?

In Criminal Law, this is called Perjury. Don't always think that you are being kind-hearted by speaking up for this person or that person.

If you are a witness, and the only witness, and in this situation where your testimony could send someone to jail in the blink of an eye, just try and see what the result of talking nonsense would be.

So, when Fang came to his senses, he directly moved to take Xiang Li away.

Xiang Li was there nagging and didn't want to go; arguing on behalf of others certainly wouldn't work, but he had to argue for himself.

Manager Xu was also truly anxious; Xiang Li was taking money but not putting in the effort—all his bootlicking for so long had been in vain!

"Comrade, Comrade, wait! I'll compensate her, won't I? I'll pay, I'll give the money now, I'll give six thousand yuan!"

He struggled while shouting.

"I'm warning you, don't struggle! If you struggle again, I'll use police equipment!" The apprentice had already pulled out the Silver Bracelets.

Who would have thought Manager Xu would be even more agitated: "Didn't I just smash a phone? Why do you have to use Handcuffs?"

This time, Fang didn't need to issue multiple Warnings; he stepped forward, and with a clean and swift grappling move, the Handcuffs were already on.

"Move!"

Finally, Manager Xu became obedient, but the people at the scene were all stunned. What kind of bizarre development was this?

Manager Xu smashed Xiao Wu's phone, and as a result, he was being cuffed and taken away?

Those who were clever said, "This isn't because Manager Xu's mistake was so serious; it's mainly because he is resisting law enforcement now. Otherwise, they definitely wouldn't have used Handcuffs."

Both were there nagging and bickering, so Fang directly put the Silver Bracelets on them. Finally, the two didn't dare to say anything more.

Just go along with them; there shouldn't be any major issue, right?

They soon returned to the Police Station, and Fang reported the situation, which the higher-ups took very seriously.

They began to investigate Manager Xu and Xiang Li separately.

Facts proved that those who could sit in a Police Station and lie without changing their expression were in the minority; once they sat in those chairs, Manager Xu and Xiang Li were both scared silly.

What the hell is this situation!

Manager Xu was dumbfounded, wondering what had happened to him. Could it be that smashing a phone and paying for it wasn't enough?

Xiang Li was even more dumbfounded: "I didn't do anything, did I? Why do you all look like you're interrogating me now!"

"Xiang Li, so the statement you gave to our police officers earlier—that Xu Lian accidentally smashed the other party's phone while asking Wu Qiuling to delete the video—was a lie, right?" the police officer asked very seriously.

"Yes, yes, Comrade. I was mainly... mainly because I felt that if a personnel manager smashed an Employee's phone, it wouldn't look good if it got out..."

The police officer asked, "So you lied when our police officers were questioning you? Do you know how serious the nature of what you did is?"

Xiang Li was stunned: "Comrade, what I did... is it very serious? I was just speaking up for Manager Xu, not wanting this matter to get out and affect the Company's reputation."

"You committed Perjury, do you know that? The phone that Xu Lian smashed is worth over five thousand yuan, so it is suspected of Intentional Damage to Property, and your testimony was sufficient to keep him from being held accountable. Do you call that serious?"

This... Xiang Li fell silent and suddenly started to cry: "Comrade, Comrade, I really didn't know that smashing a phone was a crime. I just thought it was over if he compensated that Xiao Wu for a phone. Comrade, don't, please listen to my explanation..."

Perjury is a crime with a strong subjective aspect; it must be committed with the knowledge that the other party is committing a crime, and it must be done intentionally to achieve a certain effect to constitute Perjury.

Naturally, Xiang Li's actions could not constitute this, because although he committed Perjury intentionally, he did not know that the other party was suspected of a crime.

So, naturally, it did not constitute a crime.

However, while Criminal Law might not apply, Administrative Penalty is still necessary. Making false statements while the Public Security Bureau is handling a case will inevitably lead to Administrative Detention and fines.

Xiang Li naturally didn't know this; he felt that he was finished.

An hour later, Wu Guniang walked out of the Police Station with a bewildered expression.

I just wanted to resign, but... the personnel manager and the Company leader in charge of personnel have both gone in. Who should I find to sign the papers?

The second update is here! This speed is impressive, right? Everyone, cast your monthly votes!

Thanks to AEM07 for the tip, thank you.

(End of this chapter)