Chapter 417: The Twelve Volumes of Criminal Law, Every Volume Has Your Name (Seeking Monthly Votes)

Already, a significant amount of time had been wasted over at the fitness gym, arguing and blocking the way to prevent them from leaving.

Now, after spending half the day at the Police Station, it was already time for work by the time they came out.

People are actually blind followers; because Zhou Yi had previously said he'd blocked the Fitness Gym Boss, everyone had come running over.

Now they realized the Fitness Gym Boss wasn't afraid of them at all, and since they were at the Police Station, it was impossible for them to go up and beat someone.

So, in reality, they had blocked nothing but air.

Now that they heard the previous store manager had been blocked, they hurried back.

In truth, they didn't even know what the point of blocking was, but... since everyone else went, I might as well go too.

And so, a crowd of people rushed from the Police Station back to the fitness gym, and Zhou Yi naturally blended into the crowd.

He was actually very sleepy now, but his spirit was quite invigorated.

This matter was getting more and more interesting; Zhou Yi really wanted to know, when facing these "corporate thugs," what should one do?

It couldn't be that they could just do whatever they wanted!

It was just a pity that Zhou Cainiao wasn't particularly reliable; she couldn't think of any suitable methods either, and could only suggest a Lawsuit.

Actually, this was a method any normal Lawyer could think of—just sue; what else can you do in an economic dispute?

But the problem was, the other party clearly wasn't afraid of being sued. Even if you won, you wouldn't be able to enforce the judgment, so the Lawsuit would be the same as not filing one at all.

The store manager was a middle-aged man of about thirty, wearing black-rimmed glasses; at this moment, he was being blocked by many people, all demanding an explanation from him.

"I don't care how you handled it, but I only signed up for a membership because of what you said. You said there definitely wouldn't be any problems, so I signed up for three years, and now you're telling me it has nothing to do with you?" a woman shouted while pointing at the store manager's nose.

"Exactly, refund the money, hurry up and refund my money! And there are private coaching sessions too; I bought one and hadn't even taken it yet, and you guys stopped operating!"

This one was an even bigger sucker; buying a membership was one thing, but she had also bought lessons, and the money dropped into the void without even a sound.

The store manager wanted to speak, but he was being berated from all sides and didn't even have a chance to talk.

"If you keep doing this, I'm calling the police. Let go of me, don't touch me!" the store manager shouted as hard as he could.

However, it was useless; everyone was truly incensed. They hadn't dared to do much while at the Police Station, but now that they were out, they were all riled up.

"We just came from the Police Station, damn it! You swindled our money and ran off, and now you won't give it back? How could it be that easy? Where does your boss live? Tell us!"

"Right, it's that boss from before, didn't they say he swindled the money?"

The store manager finally caught his breath and said, "I want to know too, damn it! Our wages have been in arrears for three months, where are we supposed to go to reason with someone!"

He felt very wronged because his own wages had also been withheld.

During the marketing campaign a while back, Lu Yan had given them very high promises, saying how much commission they would get for every membership sold.

That was why everyone was frantically selling memberships.

Yes, it was the promise Lu Yan gave. Although legally the Company's legal representative had been changed, in reality, who would pay attention to that?

Anyway, they had always assumed the boss was still Lu Yan, and it was always Lu Yan who came forward for these matters.

But what was the result? Everyone had earned a pile of bonuses, but when it came time to pay the wages, they weren't paid.

So now, he, the store manager, as well as the coaches in the store, all felt wronged; they were owed wages and had a belly full of grievances with nowhere to vent.

Zhou Yi, however, didn't think they were all that wronged; the position of sales is very special.

Because in many cases, whether someone signs up for a membership or buys lessons, they are in contact with the sales staff on the front line.

So when problems arise, the sales staff will definitely be blamed first.

"You're looking for me now, but what can I do? The water and electricity are cut off, the rent is due, the boss can't be found, and our wages haven't been paid. What do you want me to do!"

"My father has been in the hospital, and now that the money isn't being paid, I can't even get by, do you know that!"

As he spoke, the store manager, a man in his thirties, cried out of grievance right there.

He was truly crying, or perhaps one could say, only those who have had their wages withheld can understand this feeling.

You work with full hope and effort, isn't it all for that bit of money to support your family?

Otherwise, why do migrant workers often resort to extreme measures when demanding unpaid wages? It's truly because there's no other way. You work for someone for so long, and they don't pay you—that could cost you your life in a heartbeat!

And for a middle-aged man like the store manager, with parents above and children below, the whole family depends on you to earn money out there.

In the end, you're busy running around every day, but when you return home, you can't bring back a single cent. Tell me, who could stand that?

The store manager squatted there and sobbed, and the surrounding crowd felt too embarrassed to speak.

The people who had been shouting the loudest before now closed their mouths.

Most of the people present were working-class; the feeling of having wages withheld is truly hard to bear.

But now, everyone felt aggrieved...

"You... why are you crying? Really, we want to solve the problem too, but now we're... sigh, this is truly f***ing ridiculous. That dog-day boss and his whole family should go to hell!"

Zhou Yi also shook his head. He had never had his wages withheld, but he could empathize with the feeling, so what was to be done?

He took out his phone and tried calling Fang Dazhuang again. At this moment, Fang Dazhuang was his greatest backing; he believed Fang Dazhuang would provide a reasonable solution.

Moreover, all along, Fang Dazhuang had helped him solve his problems.

The call went through—hey, it actually connected!

It wasn't that Fang Dazhuang was on another call last night; he had turned his phone off.

He hadn't expected it to connect at this moment.

Soon, a male voice that made one feel at ease the moment they heard it rang out: "Zhou Yi, I was a bit busy yesterday and didn't get around to returning your call..."

Fang Dazhuang preemptively explained that he had been too busy yesterday, truly too busy to even return a call.

By the time he got home, it was already very late; under normal circumstances, Zhou Yi would certainly have been asleep and wouldn't have called at that hour.

So he had intended to call today.

But because he went to bed so late, he hadn't woken up in the morning and was still sleeping when Zhou Yi's call woke him up.

"Well, Fang Dazhuang, why don't you go back to sleep first? It's not like it's urgent to settle this this very second."

At home, Fang Dazhuang said from his bed: "That works too. I've already understood the general situation from Xinran, and since you've already had Xinran file for Pre-litigation Property Preservation, it's not that urgent."

"See you at the usual time this afternoon, at the usual place!"

That settled it; Zhou Yi put down the phone, feeling very much at ease.

No matter how bad the current situation seemed, once this call with Fang Dazhuang went through, he felt everything was handled.

Looking at the store manager sitting at the entrance crying, Zhou Yi thought for a moment and stepped forward, saying: "Well... why don't you leave a phone number?"

"Who am I? I'm also here for Legal Aid..."

Perhaps feeling that Zhou Yi looked like a good person, the store manager finally gave his contact information to Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi also learned the store manager's name: his surname was Huang, his name was Huang Xiaokang, and he already had two children.

Continuing to block the entrance wasn't a solution, so Zhou Yi greeted Shizi and then turned to leave; he needed to catch up on sleep now.

…………

At three in the afternoon, Zhou Yi crawled out of bed.

He hadn't slept comfortably and still felt very drowsy.

He got up, washed up, then went downstairs, drove, and headed straight for the usual place.

"Dong Shu, the usual, three cups!" Zhou Yi said casually.

Dong Shu behind the counter nodded and began to prepare them.

It was only after sitting down that Zhou Yi remembered that Zhou Xinran probably wouldn't have time, but it didn't matter.

The three cups of coffee arrived, and not long after Zhou Yi waited, Fang Dazhuang walked in from outside the cafe, his slightly bald forehead looking like the sun blocked by clouds.

"Zhou Yi, you're here!"

As he spoke, Fang Dazhuang sat down on a chair, his sturdy frame making the cafe chair creak.

Behind him, Zhou Xinran walked in carrying her bag; her eyes swept over the table and she immediately beamed:

"Hey, I'm surprised you remembered to order three cups of coffee!"

After sitting down and exchanging pleasantries, Zhou Xinran spoke first: "The efficiency of our Guangming District Court is getting higher and higher. Your Pre-litigation Property Preservation has already had results; now, the gym equipment and such will all be subject to preservation."

"Of course, there's also that person named Zhao Zhipeng; his bank card has been frozen, but there's no money in it."

It needs to be explained here that for Pre-litigation Property Preservation, which assets get frozen depends on whether that property is related to the property potentially involved in the Litigation.

Although Qiji Fitness is a Limited Liability Company, it belongs to a one-person Limited Liability Company.

And for a one-person Limited Liability Company, if the shareholder cannot prove that their personal property is independent of the company's property, they must bear joint and several liability.

Therefore, based on its relevance and the evidence provided, it is possible to first freeze a portion of Zhao Zhipeng's assets.

It's just a pity... after investigation, it was discovered that the other party had no money.

Zhou Yi nodded; this was just following procedure to facilitate future Litigation.

At least with the Court's seizure, he and that Shizi wouldn't have to go guard it every night; there's no logic in playing the thief-catcher for a thousand days.

Zhou Xinran shut her mouth after finishing; it was clear she knew well who to listen to in this matter.

Fang Dazhuang placed his hands on the table, fingers interlaced, and looked at Zhou Yi: "I only understand the general situation. Now, tell me the details; be thorough and explain everything you know clearly."

Zhou Yi began to recount, mainly focusing on how the other party operated; as for their arrogant attitude, there was no need to mention that.

"That's the situation."

It was basically the same as what he had told Huo Pengfei and Zhou Xinran before.

This gym owner transferred equity in advance, used various means to siphon off the money, and failed to pay the wages of many gym Employees.

Fang Dazhuang was deep in thought, and Zhou Xinran spoke up: "Teacher Fang, I think the problem now is to clarify whether the other party violated regulations when siphoning the funds."

"Such behavior will definitely involve some financial maneuvers; if you really investigate, you will definitely be able to find it."

That was correct; after all, moving company assets into one's own name might look fine at a glance.

But all of this was built on the premise of not having investigated in detail!

Didn't a financial expert once say that the accounts of many companies today all depend on whether they are audited; if audited carefully, seven or eight out of ten might have problems...

But how to investigate, and who to let investigate—that is the problem.

Based on just a word, whether it will be investigated in such detail, who knows.

Fang Dazhuang was still silent; he had never been silent for so long, and Zhou Yi was a bit surprised. He was just about to ask if Fang Dazhuang was also at a loss.

Just then, Fang Dazhuang spoke: "You just said that the staff at that Qiji Fitness, their wages were not paid, right?"

"And at the very least, that store manager, as well as one of the coaches, were owed wages for more than three months, right?"

Zhou Yi nodded, then asked: "But it's just unpaid wages; does this... have any implications? They can only go to Arbitration first, right?"

Fang Dazhuang shook his head and said: "If it were a normally operating company, that might be the case, but this company is not operating normally..."

"You also just said that the store manager has an elderly person in the family hospitalized, and because of the unpaid wages, their life has been affected, right."

Zhou Yi nodded again.

"Alright, I understand."

"Zhou Yi, now is the time for you to make a decision. Do you just want to get the money back, or... do you want to send that gym owner inside?"

"Oh, it changed owners, but that doesn't matter; in any case, there can always be one who goes inside!"

Hmm... huh?

Weren't we talking about getting the money back? How did it turn into sending someone inside in Fang Dazhuang's mouth?

Zhou Xinran was also a bit curious: "Teacher Fang, this doesn't seem to involve situations like Contract Fraud or illegal fundraising."

She had thought about it before; the other party's methods were very calculated because they really did open a gym and had been open for more than two years.

So there was no intent to "defraud money" in this.

"Who said I was looking at Fraud? Xinran, didn't you notice that their Employees were owed wages?"

"I seem to remember there is a crime called the Crime of Refusing to Pay Labor Remuneration!"

"Tell me, which of the two owners of this company, the former or the latter, transferred the company's assets? And at what time did the transfer of company assets lead to the arrears in these Laborers' remuneration?"

Fang Dazhuang's two questions struck Zhou Xinran's head, giving her a feeling of sudden realization.

That's right, there is still this charge!

It wasn't that she didn't know, but that this charge is truly used too rarely nowadays.

In the past, this charge was called Malicious Wage Arrears, but later, in the Criminal Law Amendment VIII, it was changed to the Crime of Refusing to Pay Labor Remuneration.

However, in reality, this charge is rarely applied.

Because it itself punishes those behaviors where one has the ability to pay but does not pay the labor remuneration.

But, can this charge be applied to the current situation?

Wait, transferring assets!

Zhou Xinran suddenly thought of the provision for this charge; the phrase before that "or" is: using methods such as transferring assets or fleeing to evade paying the Laborer's labor remuneration...

…………

PS: Criminal Law is not twelve volumes, it just sounds good.

Making up for owed updates; the extra updates for last month's monthly tickets are finished, tomorrow I will pay back the extra update for the Alliance Master, and then I will start paying back the previous owed updates.

Thanks to Zui Le Ye Hao, Sheng Qiang De Bai Sui Lan, Wen Chi, Da Lian Mao Mao Mi, thank you to these brothers for the tips, goodnight.

(End of chapter)