Forensic doctor Cao opened the door and walked in with a stack of documents.
Nie Chaofan and Xiao Ma stood up at the same time and said in unison: "Is there any result?"
Since taking over the case, as no conclusive evidence has been found, Nie Chaofan, who is in charge of the police, is under great pressure. His hair is messy and his beard is unkempt and he has no time to take care of it.
At this time, he stared at Lao Cao with wide, bloodshot eyes.
Xiaoma was slightly better. Although he had to go back and forth between two places in a short period of time, he at least rested in the car, and as a young man, his energy and physical strength were relatively better.
Lao Cao frowned and looked at the two of them without saying anything. This attitude already showed the answer.
Nie Chaofan was on the verge of collapse and fell down on the chair with a long sigh.
Xiao Ma still didn't give up. He took a few steps forward and grabbed Lao Cao's sleeves, unwilling to say: "Master Cao, are you able to compare?"
Lao Cao glanced at Nie Chaofan, who was slumped in the chair, and shook his head.
Xiao Ma gritted his teeth and said: "It doesn't matter, I will go to their village again tomorrow. This time I will stay a few more days and collect the DNA of all the men in their village!"
Lao Cao smiled bitterly and said: "Xiao Ma, do you know how much we have to pay for a DNA comparison at the experimental center? Two thousand! One comparison costs two thousand!"
"Human life is at stake, even 20,000 people have to be investigated!"
"But others would be willing to work overtime every day to do this useless work for you?"
"How can it be a useless effort! Maybe the suspect is hiding here!"
"You've already made a trip. If people got the news, they would have gone to other provinces to take shelter. China is such a big country, are you going to run to each place?"
"Then...then you have to try it."
"Don't add to the chaos. A clueless investigation is a waste of police power. Besides, there are still two suspects in the cage. Do you think your suggestion of a village-wide inspection can be supported by the leaders?"
With that said, Lao Cao gently patted Xiao Ma's shoulder, put the comparison report on the table and left.
Xiao Ma anxiously walked around the room and said to himself: "It's been two days and two nights and there's still no trial. What should I do now? What should I do?"
Nie Chaofan said hoarsely: "I've been hungry for a few days. Go to the cafeteria and bring them some food."
Xiao Ma paused: "Tan Nie, are you giving up?"
Nie Chaofan was speechless. He just stiffened his neck and flipped through the pages of the case file that had been turned over in just a few days.
"boom."
The door of the conference room was opened, and Team Wei from the technical investigation department walked in with a few police officers smiling.
"Inspector Nie, have all the suspects confessed? Come on, smoke a cigarette, everyone has been arrested, why are you frowning?"
Nie Chaofan pushed it away with his hand and said helplessly: "The two suspects haven't confessed yet, and the DNA test materials haven't matched, hey!"
Captain Wei pulled up a chair and sat down, stretched out his index finger and pointed in the west direction, lowering his voice and saying: "The liaison officer of the city government didn't look very good. When he answered the phone just now, he sounded like he was scolded. Tsk, tsk,
Now the neighbor next door is throwing things and getting angry. Nie Tan, you have to hurry up."
Nie Chaofan wiped his face vigorously and raised the corners of his mouth: "Thank you, Captain Wei, for reminding me. I will take someone over to interrogate him again later. Even this confession may not be released at once."
"If you don't have a confession, just do a sudden interrogation. If you do it suddenly, everything will be revealed. Anyway, it's definitely just these two people who can't escape." Captain Wei stood up and walked out. When he passed by Nie Chaofan, he patted him on the shoulder and showed a playful smile.
After closing the door, Captain Wei suddenly opened the door halfway and said with a smile: "I forgot to tell you, the senior officer from the criminal branch said that after the case is concluded, he will reserve a place for you in the pre-trial."
After saying that, he turned around and smiled at the other side: "Really? Zhang Da."
"Yes, weren't you there when we talked about this?"
Captain Wei turned around with a bright spring: "Old Nie, oh no, Nie, take good care of it."
After everyone from the agency had finished leaving, the conference room fell into silence again.
Nie Chaofan felt that his head was a little awkward. It felt like it was quite heavy and he had no strength at first, but suddenly it was injected...injected...
"Jingle Bell."
Nie Chaofan took a look and saw that the call was from the captain.
"Old Nie, how is the case going?" came the slightly anxious voice of the team leader on the phone.
It had been two days since the criminal suspect arrived at the case, but the case was still motionless and there had been no further development. As the head of the criminal department, he was really worried.
Nie Chaofan glanced at Xiao Ma beside him. Xiao Ma consciously left the conference room and closed the door.
"I'm very tough-talking, and I haven't confessed yet." Nie Chaofan was a little frustrated.
"..." There was silence on the phone for a moment, and then a long sigh came from the captain, "Hey! It has been extended to forty-eight hours. If it drags on for any longer, he will be released. Our punishment is really... really
I can’t afford to lose face like this.”
"Lin Da, I...I want to...try again." The last sentence Captain Wei said before leaving flashed through his mind, and Nie Chaofan said in a strange way.
"Old Nie, don't worry about it. I'm going to retire soon anyway, so I don't need to carry this case with me. If you really can't handle it, just forget it, but don't let yourself get involved. The current environment is terrible.
It’s different from before, and you must not mess around.” As a veteran criminal investigator, the captain immediately understood what Nie Chaofan meant when he said he wanted to try again.
"Lin Da, I...hey." Nie Chaofan was speechless and could only sigh.
"..."
"Dudu."
Putting down the phone, Nie Chaofan put his hands on his forehead and closed his eyes.
With the case reaching this point, he had no idea at all.
The video surveillance didn't capture it, and the DNA test materials didn't match up. There was no evidence, and the only thing that could make the case final was the confession.
Twenty years of investigating and handling the case day and night, confusing black and white;
Elderly parents who are in need of companionship as they age;
My wife and children who need to be protected after being separated for a long time;
Pressure from higher authorities to solve the case;
Desire to lift;
Many thoughts were mixed together, raging like a tornado in Nie Chaofan's mind, and raging again and again.
Sweep everything away and return to peace.
"Confession!"
Nie Chaofan raised his head with a fierce look in his eyes.
————
PS: Article 55 of the "Criminal Procedure Law" establishes the principle of "emphasis on evidence, emphasis on investigation and research, and not taking oral confessions lightly." But in practice, whether it was twenty years ago or now, oral confessions are still the king of evidence.
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The only difference is that in the early years, "confessions were emphasized over evidence." Nowadays, it must be corroborated by objective evidence such as physical evidence, documentary evidence, audio-visual materials, etc. Evidence must be formed, otherwise the procuratorate will not be able to pass.
In other words, it is impossible to convict by relying solely on oral confessions, because the confessions cannot corroborate each other. However, in the actual handling of the case, other evidence can still be found. If it cannot be found at once, it can be forensically identified first.
Unjust, false, and wrongful convictions may indeed occur based solely on oral confessions; but a complete chain of evidence is required, and criminals who are lucky enough to escape are indispensable.
To put it more deeply, you cannot convict based on confession without evidence.
Is this a reward and incentive for criminals who perfectly hide and destroy evidence?