Chapter 238 - 139: Onstage Judging, a Homicide Case

"Next, we will have the review for participating case number 53. This is a civil rights protection case..."

The moment the host’s voice echoed through the conference room, everyone present fell silent.

Even Xu De and the others stopped talking.

Xu De watched in silence as someone walked onto the stage.

No matter what, they still had to fight for the classic case designation.

The Li Family Village case was a matter of great importance. This wasn’t merely about an award; it was something that could influence the entire judicial direction of Qingwu Province.

In this world, there was only one Xu De and only one Zhang Bingxin.

But there was far more than one victim like Wang Qiang. Without proper judicial guidance, countless future victims, lacking a Xu De or a Zhang Bingxin to help them... The verdicts would often be disastrous!

With these thoughts in mind...

A middle-aged policewoman in the conference room had already taken the stage.

"Distinguished leaders, esteemed judges, comrades, hello. Today, on behalf of the case-handling team..."

"In presenting this case for review, we will cover the case’s origin, the points of contention, the trial process, and the final verdict..."

"We invite your critique and guidance."

"First, the origin of the case..."

The policewoman scanned the room, took a deep breath, and began in a solemn voice:

"This is a civil rights protection case."

"A man in his seventies was defrauded of approximately 20,000 yuan under the guise of wellness services."

"The elderly man was scammed by a wellness center that sold him ’cancer-prevention,’ ’lymphatic drainage,’ and ’life-extension’ packages. Over a period of three months, he made 12 transfers totaling 21,732 yuan."

"After persuasion from his family and the police, the man finally began to seek a refund. However, the business was only willing to return five thousand yuan and even tried to make him sign an unfair agreement..."

A consumer rights case involving the elderly...

This wasn’t exactly uncommon.

The audience listened, nodding along. Occasionally, they couldn’t help but murmur to their neighbors.

Cases like this happen all over the country.

The victims in these cases are often exploited for a number of reasons: the loneliness they feel when their children are away, their growing anxiety about their health, and the cognitive decline that can accompany old age.

Scammers then use health supplements as a pretense to defraud them.

As for what these "health supplements" actually were... they were relatively harmless.

They usually weren’t lethal. The ’medicines’ these seniors bought at exorbitant prices were mostly just sleep aids, digestive promoters, starch compounds, and the like.

However...

In the front row.

"Protecting the elderly from consumer fraud is a top priority. These cases have become increasingly common in recent years. All regions must implement appropriate preventative measures."

Du Wei listened to the presentation, nodding to himself. He then remarked in a low voice to those around him.

Lu Guohua nodded. "That’s right. Nowadays..."

The audience listened on.

However, the police officers in the audience listened with increasingly furrowed brows and unfriendly expressions.

「After a long moment.」

"In summary, that concludes the full overview of the ’Elderly Consumer Protection Case’ from Yangchun City."

The policewoman let out a long breath and said:

"Our presentation is complete."

"We now invite the leaders and comrades in the audience to provide their commentary."

The instant she finished speaking.

Almost instantly, without a moment’s pause, someone from the Provincial Public Security Department shot back with a question.

"First of all, the casework was excellent."

"The consumer’s rights were upheld, the fraudulent funds were fully recovered, and the shop involved was ordered to rectify its practices. However..."

As he spoke,

The man from the Public Security Department paused. On stage, the presenter’s heart sank.

"However."

"Does the fact that the elderly man was scammed in the first place not indicate a flaw in your preventative measures?"

"This case is typical for the industry. So why was it handled as an isolated incident? Why wasn’t a broader... Why don’t I see any other follow-up investigations?"

The barrage of questions hit the presenter hard.

Even the onlookers’ eyes twitched as they listened.

A review session was, indeed, a place to report on a case.

But you couldn’t just prepare for that single case. You had to resolve the series of related issues it exposed and demonstrate tangible results.

Besides that...

’We’ve got a clash. Lanhua also submitted a similar type of case for review this year...’

Down in the audience.

In the experts’ section, Feng Ji of the Lawyers Association narrowed his eyes, his mind racing.

When the host announced the beginning of the expert Q&A session, Feng Ji didn’t hesitate for a second. He immediately and openly began firing off a series of questions.

"This..."

The policewoman on stage struggled to respond.

「After a long while.」

She was finally "released from her sentence," walking off the stage as if she had just escaped a catastrophe.

’Not bad, heh. He won’t even let a civil case slide.’

From the back of the room, Xu De watched Feng Ji’s retreating figure and sneered inwardly, but then paid him no further mind.

「About two hours later.」

On stage.

At the podium, the host smiled, microphone in hand. He glanced at his notes and announced:

"Next, we have the review for participating case number 59. This is a criminal case of internet fraud... involving a large number of suspects and numerous members of a fraud ring..."

A criminal case?

Internet fraud!?

At his words,

A stir went through the audience.

"Internet fraud? Online scams? Hiss... now that’s a thorny issue. We’ve already handled several cases in our jurisdiction..."

"Same here. The parties can commit fraud without ever meeting, and the police are run ragged trying to catch them."

"Let’s see how they dealt with it."

"..."

Everyone in the conference room clearly recognized the importance of this case and couldn’t help but start discussing it.

In the experts’ section.

Feng Ji of the Lawyers Association thought for a moment and ultimately decided against trying to give this case a low score.

The case was too high-profile; he couldn’t afford to be too obvious in his criticism.

In the last row.

At this moment, Zhang Bingxin and Huang Shi were also drawn from their own worries. Frowning, they began to voice their opinions on the matter.

"Internet fraud... These people come and go like ghosts. They say a few words and convince people to transfer their money."