Chapter 88: Chapter 88: An Invisible Knife that Kills Without Drawing Blood
Shen Dao listened to the full account of what had happened. His gaze then settled on the takeout container on the table.
The takeout box was already open. Inside the braised chicken and rice, a thick glob of phlegm was mixed with several chunks of chicken.
If one didn’t look closely, it would be genuinely difficult to notice.
However...
Shen Dao pointed at the takeout and couldn’t help saying, "This delivery guy’s behavior is indeed disgusting and utterly classless, but... surely it has nothing to do with poisoning, right?"
In our country, there is indeed the crime of poisoning, which refers to the act of introducing toxic substances to endanger another person’s life or property.
But this case Qin Mu reported... As he saw it, it could only be considered a civil dispute, unrelated to a criminal charge like introducing dangerous substances.
"The other party spitting in your food, strictly speaking, constitutes contaminating another’s food and damaging their property. This can lead to a warning, compensation for related losses, and civil damages of up to 2,000 yuan."
The reason the other party dared to do this... was probably because they thought spitting wasn’t a big deal. At most, they’d have to compensate for the takeout, which cost a little over ten yuan.
However, Qin Mu shook his head, saying very seriously, "Captain Shen, this matter is not just a simple act of food contamination. The perpetrator has indeed committed the crime of poisoning—or, to be precise, the crime of introducing dangerous substances."
Shen Dao was startled. He’d been in this line of work for so many years, yet this was the first time he’d ever heard that spitting phlegm could constitute the crime of introducing dangerous substances.
"Article 114 of our country’s Criminal Law stipulates the crime of introducing dangerous substances. This refers to the intentional introduction of toxic, corrosive, or radioactive substances, infectious disease pathogens, or other materials that endanger public safety."
In front of Shen Dao and several other police officers, Qin Mu recited this legal statute verbatim, not missing a single word.
After listening, Shen Dao nodded thoughtfully. Although he couldn’t quite recall the specifics, he understood the general meaning of this law.
There are two constituent elements: one is the act of introducing substances that are toxic or dangerous. The second is that it endangers public safety. Both conditions are indispensable.
If it only endangers public safety, it falls under the crime of endangering public safety by dangerous means. If there is only the act of introducing such substances without endangering public safety, that would typically be considered attempted intentional homicide, depending on intent and substance.
The other party merely spat phlegm.
Surely... it couldn’t possibly constitute the crime of introducing dangerous substances?
While he was pondering and analyzing, Qin Mu continued, "Captain Shen, I strongly suspect that the perpetrator’s phlegm contains infectious disease pathogens. I request a chemical analysis of his phlegm!"
Shen Dao was taken aback and suddenly realized. This crime includes infectious disease pathogens as a type of dangerous substance!
Simply put, if the perpetrator were a tuberculosis or hepatitis B patient, spreading the disease in this manner would indeed constitute the crime of introducing dangerous substances.
In past judicial practice, there have been several cases prosecuted for such retaliatory acts against society.
But... He looked up and glanced at Qin Mu, puzzled. He couldn’t help but ask, "How do you know his phlegm contains infectious disease pathogens?"
Generally speaking, the phlegm of a healthy person, though containing many bacteria, would not typically carry infectious disease pathogens!
Qin Mu smiled faintly. He explained, "Yesterday, when he delivered the takeout, I noticed he had a constant runny nose. When he was crying, tears and snot were streaming down his face. It’s highly probable he had a cold."
After Shen Dao listened, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, his face a mask of disbelief.
A cold! Something like that is indeed contagious. Strictly speaking, the virus causing it definitely counts as an infectious disease pathogen!
If infectious disease pathogens are detected in this phlegm... then the other party indeed fulfills the first constituent element for the crime of introducing dangerous substances.
He fell silent for a long moment, carefully mulling it over.
Then he shook his head. "But... you were going to eat this takeout yourself. At most, the perpetrator was retaliating against you. It didn’t endanger public safety, so it still doesn’t constitute the crime of introducing dangerous substances."
"Who said I was going to eat it myself?"
Shen Dao was momentarily stunned again.
Then he saw Qin Mu saying innocently, "I ordered this braised chicken and rice, intending to share it with Old Zhang and the others at the nursing home—more than ten people in all."
"Fortunately, I found this phlegm in time. If I hadn’t, considering their age, if they caught a cold... they might have died!"
"Captain Shen, such actions by the other party clearly constitute the crime of introducing dangerous substances, which is extremely vile. Please ensure he is severely punished!"
Listening to Qin Mu’s "explanation," Shen Dao’s mouth twitched. He couldn’t help but glance again at the single serving of braised chicken and rice on the table.
This, to be shared among more than ten people... It likely wouldn’t even fill the gaps between their teeth.
However, the expanded interpretation of this offense of introducing dangerous substances provides a detailed definition of what constitutes endangering public safety. Regardless of how far-fetched Qin Mu’s statement was, as long as his act of introducing the substance created a possibility of endangering public safety, with a potential risk to multiple people, it could constitute the crime of introducing dangerous substances.
Sometime later, he took a deep breath. He re-evaluated his thoughts and nodded. "If what you say is true, then the other party is indeed suspected of the crime of introducing dangerous substances."
Both necessary conditions were met. The other party’s actions were intentional, perfectly meeting the criteria for the offense of introducing dangerous substances.
And this offense, like the crime of endangering public safety by dangerous means, is a conduct-based offense. This means that as long as the act itself occurred, regardless of whether any actual harm resulted—even if Qin Mu hadn’t eaten a single bite—the perpetrator would face a fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years and not more than ten years!
If it had resulted in serious consequences—for instance, if everyone in the nursing home had caught a cold—the sentence would be ten years or more, potentially even the death penalty!
As absurd as it sounds, that’s what the criminal law states!
A single act of spitting phlegm... and with Qin Mu’s interpretation, it had escalated directly to the criminal offense of introducing dangerous substances!
"However, regarding the actual situation, we still need to take the takeout back for analysis. We’ll notify you once the results are in."
After understanding the case, Shen Dao waved his hand, signaling the police officers behind him to bag the "evidence." He was about to return to the police station.
"Wait a minute, Captain Shen, this case isn’t over yet."
Seeing this, Qin Mu quickly called out to him, continuing, "That was just the first case. I have several other cases to report."
Shen Dao’s mouth twitched again. Looking at Qin Mu, he was rather speechless. "Several more...?"
This takeout incident... If this had happened to anyone else, they would probably just curse a bit and definitely wouldn’t report it to the police.
For Qin Mu to directly report the other party for introducing dangerous substances was already quite extreme.
He hadn’t expected... there were several more cases connected to this!
"Yes. One is for the crime of incitement. The delivery guy’s act of introducing dangerous substances was actually incited by netizens online."
Qin Mu nodded. He quickly took out his phone, found the video from before, and opened the comment section.
He showed Shen Dao the comments where several netizens were "offering advice."
Every commenter portrayed themselves as righteous, suggesting ways to teach the delivery guy a lesson he would never forget.
From suggesting spitting saliva... they directly instructed the delivery guy to spit phlegm.
After Shen Dao finished reading through the entire comment section, he too fell silent for several seconds.
Thousands of comments, all siding with the delivery guy. Every single one accused Qin Mu, calling him cold-blooded, heartless, and inhuman.
Though they held no knives, they used words, relentlessly attacking Qin Mu online, engaging in verbal abuse. It was murder without spilling blood.