Chapter 46: Chapter 46 You Can’t Escape the Robbery Charge [Four Updates]
Zheng Liang was stunned for a moment. Not daring to hide any details, he confessed honestly, "Me and my buddies spent the afternoon fishing today, and we went home right after."
After speaking, he attempted to defend himself, repeating insistently, "Officer, we really have nothing to do with the robbery. You must have mistaken us for someone else! We’re just ordinary fishing enthusiasts, not involved in any shady business. How could we dare rob anyone?"
Shen Dao glanced at him and then continued to ask, "Then where did the Ancient Wood you sent to the identification center come from?"
Zheng Liang’s pupils shrank. But thinking of his buddies in the next interrogation room, he still didn’t dare to lie and truthfully explained its origin.
"Officer, although someone else caught it, we initially thought it was just a piece of wood. We kindly offered to help. It was only when we were about to process it that we realized it might be Ancient Wood, so we sent it to the identification center."
Afterward, Zheng Liang hastily added, defending himself, "Besides, they said they didn’t want it themselves; that’s why we moved it away... Could helping out like that really be considered robbery?"
He stared hard at Shen Dao, his expression somewhat indignant.
However, Shen Dao’s words deflated him immediately.
"Discovered it afterward? Kindly helping out? Your friends next door have already confessed. They said you recognized the value of this Ancient Wood from the start, and when you were dragging it away, you had already agreed to split the proceeds, one hundred thousand each!"
"Officer... this, this..." Zheng Liang was momentarily at a loss for words.
But he still stubbornly maintained, "Even so, that doesn’t constitute robbery! Although they caught it, all six of us helped pull it up together. Without us, those old men couldn’t have moved it at all! Logically, we have six-sevenths ownership. We had every right to take it away!"
Shen Dao listened to Zheng Liang’s legally ignorant argument and almost burst out laughing.
That was merely helping out, and they dare claim six-sevenths ownership? If that were the case, would a landlord have to give tenants half-ownership of the property?
Afterward, he decided to seriously educate Zheng Liang on some legal basics.
"The fishing area in question is not privately owned. According to our country’s laws, anything fished out of public waters belongs entirely to the person who caught it. Therefore, ownership of this item belongs entirely to the informant!"
According to property law, if it was a privately contracted body of water, the situation would be different; it would belong to the contractor of that water area. If it were unearthed from the ground, it would be classified as an excavated cultural relic and would belong to the state.
Upon hearing this, Zheng Liang’s determined expression gradually faded, and his complexion became even more unsightly.
If, according to the law, the ownership belonged to the other party... then the two million they’d gotten their hands on would just vanish into thin air?
That’s right. Even now, he still didn’t consider his actions to be robbery. He was still agonizing over that Ancient Wood, worth two million.
"Alright, now let’s talk about the robbery," Shen Dao said, seeing that Zheng Liang remained silent. He posed the next question, "At that time, did the other party clearly state they didn’t want you to take away the Ancient Wood?"
Zheng Liang recollected the scene. His gaze flickered as he hesitated, wondering whether to tell the truth.
But Shen Dao snorted coldly, "Just a reminder: you are the last one to be interrogated. Your five friends before you have all confessed truthfully. You need to be responsible for what you say!"
Zheng Liang swallowed hard. He could only nod. "They did indeed tell us not to help."
Shen Dao frowned and then asked, "So how did you end up moving it?"
Upon hearing this question, Zheng Liang’s heart lurched. So that’s where this ’robbery’ accusation comes from! he finally realized.
He quickly defended himself, "We were just a bit insistent, that’s all! We didn’t actually do anything, didn’t even lay a finger on them! They moved aside voluntarily. I guarantee, there was no conflict at all!"
After saying this, he paused, then couldn’t help but ask, "This shouldn’t constitute robbery, right?"
Yet Shen Dao coldly responded, "The elements of robbery include three things: first, the target of the robbery being the party’s property or personal safety; second, acting against the party’s will; and third, using violence or coercive means against the party. Currently, the Ancient Wood you took home belongs to the concerned party. Its value... you’ve already had it professionally appraised at two million. Secondly, the party clearly expressed their unwillingness to cooperate. Finally, there were six of you, all able-bodied men, while the other party consisted of only one young man and several elderly people. Although no physical violence was used, your actions still constitute coercion. You can’t escape this robbery charge."
"Alright, next question. At that time, were you the primary instigator of this act, or was it a collective decision among all six of you?"
Sitting in the interrogation chair, listening to Shen Dao’s every word, Zheng Liang finally realized the seriousness of the matter. His face gradually turned pale. He could no longer hear what Shen Dao was saying afterward; his mind was completely consumed by the word "robbery."
He had never imagined... that his simple act of ’scoring a find’ could be linked with such a serious criminal charge.
...
「An hour later.」
Shen Dao left the interrogation room, having concluded the questioning of Zheng Liang and the other five.
In truth, after questioning Zheng Liang and his group, Shen Dao had already pieced together the general sequence of events. Qin Mu had fished up the Ancient Wood, and its value was recognized by Zheng Liang’s group. Consequently, they developed designs on it. Employing various coercive tactics, they ultimately took the Ancient Wood.
However, investigating a case requires a complete chain of evidence. Therefore, he still instructed his officers to find and bring in an eyewitness who had been present at the fishing spot on the outskirts of Jin City that afternoon.
"Officer, I’m not sure... why you’ve asked for me?" Huang Lixin, a man in his forties, was escorted before Shen Dao by a police officer. He appeared somewhat apprehensive.
Just a short while ago, he was about to have dinner at home when police officers suddenly arrived at his door. They said he was needed as an eyewitness to provide information about a robbery case. Therefore, he didn’t even have time to eat and rushed over immediately.
Shen Dao smiled and spoke in a soothing voice, "Don’t be nervous. It’s just a simple inquiry. This afternoon, you were also at that fishing spot in the outskirts, weren’t you? You probably saw someone pull a large piece of wood from the water, correct?"
Huang Lixin blinked. It was as if a switch had been flipped; he immediately recalled the afternoon’s events and, after a quick nod, launched into an animated account.
"Officer, let me tell you, those two groups of people fishing this afternoon were incredibly ill-mannered! This afternoon, someone did indeed pull up a black piece of wood, and let me tell you, it was pretty heavy. Then, it looked like six strapping young men went over to ’help’. They helped drag the wood ashore and then very ’enthusiastically’ offered to clean it for them. I’ve never seen such ’helpful’ people. The rightful owners clearly refused their ’help,’ but those guys still got aggressive..."