Too Bad I Take Things Seriously-Chapter 632 - 241: Excited Zhang Wei, Another Business Opportunity!

Qing Lan’s voice echoed clearly outside the police station. Under Qin Mu’s guidance, she was also very familiar with these legal theories. According to the relevant provisions of the Criminal Law, only minors under fourteen years of age are exempt from criminal responsibility. Of course, for some particularly special or brutal violent crimes, these minors under fourteen still have to be incarcerated. For example, responsibility must be assumed for acts such as intentional homicide, intentional injury causing serious injury or death, robbery, drug trafficking, arson, or explosion. Only those under eight years old are exempt from any criminal responsibility. As for the elderly, no laws state they are exempt from criminal responsibility. It’s just that for those over seventy, administrative detention does not apply, and for those over seventy-five, it’s stipulated that their crimes can be subject to lighter or commuted punishment.

"Zhou Suo should know these laws," Qing Lan stated. "When dealing with such old people... only the Criminal Law can make them realize the law is strict and inviolable!"

After finishing these words, Qing Lan turned around again and looked at Zhou Yuantu.

Zhou Yuantu looked at her with a complex expression. An idea was already forming in his mind. Qing Lan had thrown him a difficult problem, true, but she had also provided a solution.

The reason he wanted a settlement was primarily to avoid escalating the situation to a point beyond repair. After all, these elderly people were all advanced in years, with various ailments. But now, the parties involved on the pumpkin field side had directly involved the inspection and supervision departments, which were monitoring the situation closely. He had to handle it properly.

If a settlement was impossible, he could only proceed according to regulations and by the book. Afterwards, he would have to report and summarize the case to the inspection authorities. Releasing someone against regulations or pretending to look the other way was definitely not an option. The only method was as Qing Lan suggested: to have a professional medical examination organization examine the elderly people’s health. Those with various illnesses and frail due to old age could await trial outside of prison. For those who were in good health, they would be detained according to the regulations, their materials submitted, and they would await the court’s trial. Their criminal activities... Qing Lan had already made it very clear; to say it was riddled with evil deeds would not be an exaggeration.

Finally, Zhou Yuantu took a deep breath and said to the police officer beside him, "Xiao Wang, contact a professional medical examination organization."

A professional medical examination organization could issue legally recognized medical certificates. This would give them an overall understanding of the elderly people’s health conditions, helping them decide whether to detain them.

"You... wh-what exactly are you trying to do?" one of the elderly men stammered. Nearby, Zhao Dezhu and the others grew agitated once more. The conversation between Zhou Yuantu and Qing Lan had taken place right in front of them, and they had heard every word clearly. It seemed they were about to be arrested as well!

Zhou Yuantu glanced at the elderly individuals and said sternly, "You started by stealing melons and refused to change despite repeated warnings. Then, you assaulted the police station and gathered a crowd to cause a disturbance. You have severely violated the Criminal Law. The entire process has been recorded on law enforcement cameras, and we have witness testimony. The evidence chain is sufficient. Come and register your names and information one by one, and then wait for the medical examination."

As he spoke, several police officers behind him came forward with a stack of thick forms and began to register the identity information of the old people.

This series of unexpected developments made all the elderly people present realize something was amiss. The situation appeared to be completely different from what they had anticipated. Not only did the police station not release anyone, but they also began to register their identity information, preparing to detain them as well!

The confidence and arrogance on their faces gradually faded away, replaced by unease and panic. Some even thought about sneaking away. Unfortunately, police officers were already stationed all around, surrounding them and ensuring they remained at the scene.

"Until the investigation and medical examination are over, nobody is allowed to leave!" Zhou Yuantu looked at the crowd and spoke again in a deep tone.

In the crowd, Zhao Dezhu clenched his teeth tightly, his heart pounding.

"Brother Three, what do we do now? Are they really going to arrest us?"

"We can’t run, it’s over! This is a complete disaster—we failed to rescue them and ended up getting caught ourselves!" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"It seems like they’re serious; they’re not letting a single one of us go."

"Zhao Laosan, say something! We all followed you here."

"..."

A group surrounded him, anxious as ants on a hot pan; not one of them remained calm.

Previously, they all believed that the police station wouldn’t dare to arrest them. Firstly, they were old, all in their seventies and eighties; if anything happened to them, the authorities couldn’t bear the responsibility. Secondly, over a hundred of them had come—surely there was safety in numbers, and it wasn’t possible to detain them all. But now, the appearance of this strange woman had disrupted all their plans.

She’d just spouted a bunch of nonsense and accused them of six major crimes! She even said they would be imprisoned for decades. And the police had immediately begun to register their information, seemingly prepared to get serious. Although Zhao Dezhu had previously explained that they could enjoy free food and accommodation if they were jailed, given the choice, nobody actually wanted to be in prison.

"Everybody, calm down!" Zhao Dezhu scowled, chiding everyone in a cold voice.

Then he snorted. "We haven’t committed any heinous crimes; it’s just a few melons! What are you so afraid of? So what if we go to jail? It wouldn’t be my first time! It’s just for stealing a few melons; we’ll be out in a few days at most. I’d like to see what they can actually do to us!"