Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Nobody Got Hurt, Making a Big Deal out of Nothing
Shen Dao glanced at him. He furrowed his brow and retorted, "If I’m shooting at birds with a gun, and you walk right past in front of me, and I don’t hit you, does that mean it’s not attempted murder?"
He Bimin was stunned for a moment, suddenly at a loss for words.
Shen Dao took a deep breath. He decided to enlighten this property manager about the law and said solemnly, "The criminal law stipulates that the crime of intentional homicide refers to the act of intentionally and unlawfully depriving another person of life, including direct intent and indirect intent."
"This act requires subjective intent, that is, knowing that one’s actions could lead to the death of another person and either hoping for or being indifferent to the outcome."
"Clearly, the act of throwing objects from a high-rise demonstrates subjective intent."
Any person with independent capacity for action knows that throwing objects from a high-rise could cause harm. Yet, the thrower still threw it. This fully constitutes the subjective motive for attempted intentional homicide.
In fact, since the criminalization of throwing objects from high-rise buildings and drunk driving, many cases of harm caused by high-rise littering ended up convicted of intentional injury or intentional homicide.
Especially with the surveillance video showing that it was after mealtime. There were many residents coming and going within the community. A beer bottle suddenly falling from the sky is practically no different from an act of intentional murder.
However, the peculiar aspect of this case is that there were no casualties or property damage.
Criminal law is always the last resort. For serious crimes like intentional homicide and intentional injury, the maximum penalty can be the death sentence, usually determined by the consequences of the event. Those that do not result in serious consequences will not be convicted of intentional homicide. Strictly speaking, the final sentencing would most likely be for the crime of high-rise littering.
If convicted of high-rise littering, depending on the severity of the circumstances, one may face less than a year of imprisonment, detention, or public surveillance, and may additionally be fined or only fined.
The incident Qin Mu encountered did not cause any damage; it wasn’t even severe enough to be considered. Therefore, it’s highly probable it would result only in a fine.
That is where the law is very humane but also very frustrating. Intentional homicide with no serious consequences... is eventually downplayed, treated as a minor offense, attributed to throwing objects from a high-rise, and at most results in a fine.
After Shen Dao had analyzed and explained the case, He Bimin’s originally tense expression gradually relaxed. He quickly said, "Right, even though the other party’s behavior was despicable, legally it’s still high-rise littering. A punishment might just suffice."
Shen Dao gave him a cold glance and ignored him. Instead, he turned around, looked at Qin Mu, and asked, "You are the party involved in this case. What do you plan to do?"
Qin Mu was the one who reported this incident. Shen Dao had also already explained very clearly that pursuing it further... The other party would very likely face a fine of under 2,000 yuan, perhaps without even detention or public surveillance.
Without hesitation, Qin Mu said directly, "What else can I do? Of course, the first step is to find the person who threw it."
After reading various legal books these days, he also knew that Shen Dao’s analysis was very professional and correct. The crime of high-rise littering could indeed be linked to intentional homicide, but it had to be based on serious consequences—for example, causing serious injury or death to someone. Luckily, he hadn’t been hit; he’d avoided a calamity. This also meant the act... couldn’t be defined as intentional murder or intentional injury. However, this didn’t mean he had no way to punish the litterer!
Hearing this, Shen Dao also nodded in agreement. Even if the culpability was minor, the person must first be found.
Afterwards, he turned his gaze back to He Bimin and inquired, "From the surveillance footage, only four households can be eliminated—those above the fourth floor in Unit Two. Has anyone come forward to admit responsibility?"
He Bimin was very cooperative and quickly replied, "We have already posted an announcement in the residents’ group of Building 10, Unit Two, but so far no one has admitted to it."
After speaking, he took out his phone, opened the WeChat group, and showed it to Shen Dao and Qin Mu.
In the owner’s group chat for Building 10, Unit Two, after the announcement was posted, over a dozen people had commented. But most were just joining in the buzz, condemning the person who threw the object from the high-rise. No one admitted to it.
"This is going to be difficult. Let’s start by making door-to-door visits," Shen Dao frowned. Accompanied by the police officers behind him, they began to visit and inquire with the residents of Unit Two, from the fourth floor and up.
Pinpointing the source of the high-rise littering was, in fact, also a major issue. With no one admitting to it... the only option was to conduct door-to-door visits. But if the other party didn’t confess, the visits were almost useless.
The second method was to collect and compare fingerprints found on the thrown object. However, this task was extremely tedious. Collecting fingerprints from everyone in the building required special permission from higher law enforcement authorities. The fingerprint collection had to be exhaustive; otherwise, all efforts would be in vain. Comparing the fingerprints also required a long time—time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly. The identification expenses were to be borne entirely by the person who reported the case.
The third method was to hire a professional organization to simulate the scene at the time. By analyzing the force applied to the beer bottle, wind conditions, descent speed, etc., they could pinpoint the specific floor. But this method... cost even more than the second method, and the results obtained might not be precise, serving only as a reference.
...
「Meanwhile.」
In Apartment 1803 of Building 10, Unit Two, Gao Feng lay on the couch in a drunken stupor, still gripping a bottle of beer in his hand. Empty beer bottles were scattered around the couch.
"Yanzi, we’ve been together for five years, how could I lose to him, who was with you for just five days..." His eyes were bloodshot, and he kept talking to himself. But because he had drunk too much, his expression was somewhat vacant and his speech slurred.
Just today, his girlfriend Yanzi had broken up with him. He chased after Yanzi’s new boyfriend’s Porsche for a kilometer, but Yanzi didn’t even look back.
Heartbroken, he bought two cases of beer and brought them home. He started drinking himself into oblivion.
"Yanzi, I can’t live without you... How can I go on without you..." Two streams of tears flowed from his eyes.
All he could think about was the cruel and heartless scene of his girlfriend leaving him. He had even considered suicide to end it all. The memories of the past five years were vivid in his mind. But Yanzi had left him ruthlessly...
GLUG! With that thought, he took another fierce gulp of beer.
He then picked up his phone, intending to call Yanzi again. Instead, he saw an announcement in the owner’s group chat.
"To all owners in Building 10, Unit Two: Around 8:27 PM, a high-rise littering incident occurred in the community. Fortunately, it didn’t result in any casualties. Please, the person responsible, come forward and admit your mistake!"
"Additionally, a firm reminder: High-rise littering is a criminal offense. It harms both yourself and others. Please don’t knowingly break the law!"
Seeing this announcement, Gao Feng blinked. His blurry memory told him... He recalled that in his grief and anger, he seemed to have thrown a bottle out in a fit of rage.
"No one even got hurt. They’re making a mountain out of a molehill..." he grumbled.
He continued to pour alcohol down his throat, drinking with utter abandon.