Chapter 330: Some Things Cannot Be Compromised

If those criminals are brought to justice, the factory's employment of them becomes one link in the criminal chain, and no matter how you explain it, you can't escape legal punishment.

To put it bluntly, those factory owners still harbor a certain opportunistic mentality.

Seeing no one had objections, Hua Kaiquan continued:

"Even if the matter is eventually exposed, cases like this are hard to convict, because after all the factory has no fact of forced labor, and those intellectually disabled persons weren't kidnapped by them."

"At most it would be judged as illegal employment, with the legal consequence being administrative punishment and civil compensation."

A very thorough analysis… Yu Dazhang nodded after hearing it,

Administrative punishment at most is a fine or revocation of the business license.

For those factory owners, this only means losing money; they don't need to bear criminal responsibility.

Compared with those criminals, these unscrupulous merchants are equally hateful, but in the end, the laws and regulations still have to be followed in execution.

"Looking at it this way, the other side's method is actually very similar to the old custody stations."

Another officer spoke up:

"I'm talking about the way of catching people. The earliest custody and repatriation stations used to grab people off the street, also targeting special groups."

"Only later it went bad—people who didn't need rescue were also grabbed in, to the point that eventually lives were lost."

His words sparked discussion among the crowd; some agreed, some shook their heads.

Yu Dazhang didn't know much about this, had only heard of it.

Because custody stations were called that before 2003, and at that time he was still in elementary school, so he didn't have much impression of those events.

But at the police academy, he had heard teachers and classmates talk about the custody stations of those days.

Custody stations were originally meant to rescue vagrants and beggars with no means of livelihood.

The original intention was good.

But later, somehow, the scope of rescue expanded, and they also started grabbing people from out of town.

Once grabbed, you'd be fined; if you had no money, your family had to pay to redeem you.

Until one day in 2003, they caught a young man surnamed Sun, who refused to submit and was beaten to death in the custody station.

Even now, the last line on his epitaph reads: A person worth commemorating, who used his life to push forward the progress of rule of law.

Also in 2003, custody stations were renamed Aid Management Stations, changing from the old practice of catching people to the current practice of escorting them.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

That was the sentiment expressed by his police academy teacher at the time, and Yu Dazhang has remembered it ever since.

Listening to everyone's discussion, he too began to think.

Earlier he had considered that the other side was imitating the prison intake teams, but here one link was missing—prison intake teams don't go around grabbing people off the street.

Catching, detaining, repatriating…

This whole process really does resemble the old custody stations very closely, except the two target different groups and have different purposes.

But that doesn't stop Yu Dazhang from speculating.

Could the person who came up with this process have worked at one of those old custody stations?

If so, that person would have to be at least 35 years old.

There was also one point that Yu Dazhang could never figure out.

How did the other side close the loop?

So many intellectually disabled persons were enslaved—suppose someone lost the ability to work, how did they handle it?

Abandonment was impossible.

The numbers were too large; even if they dumped them in another province, it would draw police attention.

Besides, intellectually disabled persons can also communicate.

Given the other side's cautious style of doing things, they wouldn't let them come into contact with the police.

There were also cases of illness and death—people eat all kinds of grain, these things are unavoidable.

If such a situation occurred, what measures would the other side take?

"Alright, quiet down, everyone."

Captain Hua suddenly cut off everyone's discussion, which also pulled Yu Dazhang's thoughts back.

He tapped the table with the hand holding a cigarette:

"Let's put this question aside for now."

Hearing Captain Hua say this, the originally noisy meeting room instantly fell silent.

He paused, waited until everyone's attention was focused on him, then asked:

"Any thoughts from other angles?"

It was obvious Hua Kaiquan commanded great authority—after his inquiry, the officers didn't dare speak lightly, even their breathing became cautious.

After waiting a while and seeing no one respond, he turned his head, stared at Yu Dazhang's still somewhat youthful chubby face, his mind full of question marks.

So young—how does he manage to be steady as an old dog?

He vaguely felt his own presence had been suppressed by this fatty.

Thinking this, he grew even more curious.

After all, given his status and position, ordinary officers would show some nervousness or awe before him, more or less.

But the fatty before him was calm and composed, not the slightest bit constrained.

He doesn't even take someone of my rank seriously?

Hard to imagine what level of leaders someone his age could have come into contact with.

"What do you think we should arrange for the next step?" Captain Hua asked, staring at Yu Dazhang.

Though his tone was very polite, there was a probing intent within it.

Clearly, he also wanted to see whether this fatty was truly confident or merely putting on a calm front.

"Next is grouping," Yu Dazhang said, looking at the officers in the room.

"Pair up in twos and spread out across all locations in Yancheng Industrial Zone, primarily observing for any suspicious vehicles entering."

Here, he paused, scanning the room with his gaze.

There were sixteen criminal investigators total, enough to form eight teams.

Before he could continue, Captain Hua suddenly spoke up:

"Sorry to interrupt, but I take it you're not planning to organize a rescue for now?"

"That's right," Yu Dazhang admitted.

"I intend to wait by the stump and catch the rabbits—first, apprehend those responsible for transportation."

This had been his plan all along, but he lacked sufficient manpower to carry it out.

Now that manpower was sufficient, it was time to act.

"We could also rescue those intellectually disabled personnel first, then set up surveillance."

Captain Hua suggested:

"This way, we can initiate the rescue earlier and interrogate the factory managers to get their cooperation in the arrests."

This approach was in fact the safest method.

Given that it's already confirmed someone is enslaving intellectually disabled personnel, failing to organize a rescue immediately could lead to problems—if anything goes wrong, they as responsible parties would surely be held accountable.

In short, they would bear the blame.

For example, if an intellectually disabled person dies accidentally during this period.

Could such a tragedy have been avoided if the rescue had been carried out earlier?

These are all issues that must be considered.

Therefore, following Hua Kaiquan's method, no matter the outcome, no one could find fault.

They wouldn't have to bear any responsibility.

"No."

No one in the meeting room expected Yu Dazhang to outright reject Captain Hua's suggestion.

He didn't even hesitate for a moment.

"If we launch an operation against those factories now, no matter how fast we move, there's always a chance the news will leak."

Yu Dazhang's tone was firm and unquestionable:

"Moreover, given the opponent's cautious nature, they've almost certainly placed spies within the industrial zone—so acting rashly would only alarm them."

He knew Captain Hua meant well, but some things couldn't be compromised.

Investigating a case is investigating a case—you can't become timid and hesitant just because you fear blame.

Upon hearing this, Captain Hua was momentarily stunned.

Determined, focused, calm…

He found it hard to imagine these traits appearing in a young man barely in his twenties.

What struck him as most unbelievable was that this fatty was also extremely decisive.

Such decisiveness was a trait only those with years of experience directing investigations possessed.

How could someone his age possibly have such a mature mindset and way of handling affairs!

(End of Chapter)