Chapter 218: 217: There Is a Human Side to the Law
Chapter 218: Chapter 217: There Is a Human Side to the Law
Yu Zhiming, along with the spectacle-seeking Yu Xiangwan and Gu Qingning, hurried to the front of Building Seven, where they found Jin Feng waiting at the entrance to Unit Two.
“The man who fraudulently claimed the reward is a good-for-nothing named Dai Kevin. He’s forty-five this year and doesn’t even have a decent job!”
Jin Feng explained as he led Yu Zhiming and the others into the elevator.
“At first, he was stubborn and refused to admit he’d falsely claimed it. I gave him a stern warning that the case involved five thousand yuan, and if we took him back to the station and confirmed it, it would be considered fraud.”
“That’s a criminal offense. He could go to jail.”
“And a prison sentence would affect his son’s background checks for future opportunities…”
Jin Feng sighed softly. “As soon as I said that, he folded immediately.”
“He admitted that he’d had a moment of greed. He saw that no one had claimed the money after a couple of days, so he decided to try his luck.”
“He never expected the other party to just ask a few simple questions without any further verification before handing over the money.”
“The moment he confessed, his wife flew into a rage and started cursing him out.”
“She cursed him for being a lazy bum, living off his parents’ pensions and her salary, and now for pulling a stunt that would ruin things for their son, who’s still in college.”
“His wife was screaming for a divorce, that she couldn’t live with him anymore. But the next moment, her eyes rolled back in her head and she fainted.”
Jin Feng paused, then asked seriously, “Dr. Yu, how do you want to handle this?”
“Do you want to press charges to the full extent of the law?”
“Or go easy on him?”
“Let’s see his attitude,” Yu Zhiming replied vaguely.
Just then, the elevator stopped on the ninth floor.
Jin Feng, Yu Zhiming, and the others stepped out of the elevator and walked straight into the apartment on the right, its door wide open.
Yu Zhiming entered the living room. The decor was plain, but the apartment was neat and tidy.
A middle-aged woman with reddish-brown dyed hair lay motionless on the living room sofa.
Beside the sofa stood a man in his forties. His hair was impeccably neat, he was smartly dressed, and he was even rather handsome, yet his shoulders were slumped in defeat.
’So this is Dai Kevin, the man who fraudulently claimed the reward?’
Yu Zhiming couldn’t help but take a second look.
’He looks so put-together, yet he’s a complete freeloader. A classic case of appearances being deceptive, I suppose.’
Also in the living room were a young police officer in uniform and a slightly plump young woman with a tense expression.
As he walked into the living room, Yu Zhiming could tell that the woman on the sofa was, in fact, already awake.
A person’s breathing and heart rate are noticeably different when they are unconscious compared to when they are awake.
An ordinary person might not be able to tell the difference.
But for a professional doctor like Yu Zhiming, especially one with hypersensitive hearing, the distinction was obvious.
Of course, there was another, simpler way to tell.
An unconscious person’s breathing wouldn’t become heavier just because he was approaching.
Yu Zhiming could understand why the wife was feigning unconsciousness—or rather, why she had woken up after fainting but was now pretending to still be out.
After all, her husband had done something utterly disgraceful. Fainting was a rather fitting way to deal with it.
Although he knew the woman was awake and only pretending to be unconscious, Yu Zhiming didn’t call her out.
He understood some things were better left unsaid.
Wearing surgical gloves, Yu Zhiming gently placed his hand on the woman’s chest and began his examination…
“Hmm…”
Having found something unexpected, Yu Zhiming focused his attention and began a more detailed examination of the woman’s heart.
After a minute or two, Yu Zhiming removed his hand, stood up, and said softly, “The fainting was caused by a heart problem.”
The woman’s husband, Dai Kevin, questioned him in surprise, “Doctor, are you sure you’re not mistaken?”
“My wife doesn’t have a heart condition.”
“I say she does, so she does!”
Yu Zhiming retorted without a shred of politeness. “I’ll wake her up first, then I’ll explain in detail…”
As he spoke, Yu Zhiming took out a hypodermic needle from his medical kit.
He brandished the needle slightly and explained to Jin Feng, Dai Kevin, and the others, “Generally, pain can rouse someone from a light state of unconsciousness.”
“First, I’ll prick the pressure point below her nose.”
“If that doesn’t wake her, I’ll have to do it under her arm. The nerves there are very dense, so it’s incredibly painful.”
Yu Zhiming said this for the woman’s benefit.
The implication was clear: ’Wake up obediently when I prick you under the nose.’
’Otherwise, you’re in for some real pain.’
Fortunately, the world has its share of smart people.
The tip of Yu Zhiming’s needle had only just brushed the skin below her nose, without even breaking it, when she opened her eyes.
She sat up on the sofa, rubbing her temple with one hand, and looked at Yu Zhiming in confusion.
“You are…?”
“I’m a doctor from Huashan Hospital!”
Yu Zhiming introduced himself before continuing, “Ma’am, I have strong reason to suspect you have hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy. In simple terms, the muscle in your heart’s ventricle is thicker than normal.”
“Typical symptoms include dizziness or fainting spells following strenuous activity or intense emotional distress.”
“I imagine you just experienced that firsthand, didn’t you?”
Without waiting for a response, Yu Zhiming explained, “It’s caused by the sympathetic nervous system, which makes the thickened heart muscle contract more forcefully. This worsens the obstruction of blood flowing out of the heart, leading to a sudden drop in the amount of blood the ventricle can pump out.”
After hearing Yu Zhiming’s explanation, the woman stared blankly for a moment before clutching her chest.
“Doctor, do I really have a heart condition?”
“Didn’t I just faint because I was so angry and stood up too fast?”
Yu Zhiming resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “You genuinely have a heart condition. I’m not joking or putting on a show.”
“The good news is that your condition isn’t severe yet. It can be managed and its progression can be slowed with medication.”
At that moment, Jin Feng cut in. “Dr. Yu, she’s not in any immediate danger, is she?”
Yu Zhiming nodded lightly. “She’s not in danger. You can tell the ambulance to go back.”
Jin Feng grunted in acknowledgment, then turned to the middle-aged couple with a serious expression. “Since there’s no immediate medical danger, let’s settle the matter at hand.”
“What about the five thousand yuan reward?”
“I’ll return it! I’ll return it right away!”
Dai Kevin replied hastily, then looked at his wife with a pitiful expression. “That five thousand… I’ve already spent it all.”
“Honey…?”
“You spent it all in less than a day?” The woman’s anger flared, and she felt her head spin again.
Just then, the young woman who had been standing silently to one side finally spoke.
“Returning the money isn’t enough. You also need to post a public apology in the residents’ group chat and admit what you did.”
Dai Kevin immediately grew anxious. “No way!” he refused.
“What about my reputation?”
“If I apologize publicly in the residents’ group chat, how am I supposed to face anyone in the future?”
Jin Feng’s voice turned cold. “Dai Kevin, did you think about your reputation when you fraudulently claimed the reward?”
“Or would you prefer we open a formal investigation and have you spend a few months reflecting on your actions in a detention center?”
Hearing this, Dai Kevin immediately backed down.
He nodded and bowed obsequiously. “I’ll apologize. A public apology. I will deeply reflect on my mistake and recognize my error.”
The young woman spoke again. “A public apology is non-negotiable.”
“We can’t have you just secretly return the money and continue to enjoy the reputation of a hero, can we?”
“And another thing…”
The young woman added, “This five thousand yuan that’s being returned—if the actual hero doesn’t contact me within the next three days, I will donate the money to the Red Cross.”
Jin Feng shot a quick glance at Yu Zhiming. Seeing his face was a blank mask, he turned his attention back to Dai Kevin.
“Dai Kevin, returning the money and apologizing are expected. They are things you must do.”
“However, what you did was quite serious. Simply returning the money and apologizing is far from enough.”
“Don’t you have some other way to show your remorse?”
Dai Kevin and his wife both understood the subtext behind ’show your remorse’.
Dai Kevin and his wife exchanged a glance before he asked cautiously, “Officer Jin, I am sincerely repentant. I truly recognize my mistake.”
“But as for this… concrete display of remorse…”
Seeing the man’s shifty eyes, Jin Feng snorted. “Dai Kevin, don’t get the wrong idea.”
“Look at this lady here. She was determined to thank her benefactor. When no one came forward, she decided she would donate the money to the Red Cross.”
Dai Kevin finally understood. “To show my sincere remorse, I will also donate to the Red Cross,” he said.
“I’ll donate…”
He trailed off, looking toward his wife.
As someone who had been unemployed for years, he had no control over the family’s finances.
His wife sighed deeply. “These days, you can get sued for tens of thousands just for slapping someone, let alone for committing an actual crime.”
“It’s just… my husband hasn’t had a steady job in years. We honestly don’t have much money.”
“So, how about this… we’ll donate fifty thousand. Is that alright?”
Under Jin Feng’s supervision and witness, Dai Kevin’s wife transferred five thousand yuan to the young woman via WeChat.
They also promised to donate fifty thousand yuan to the Red Cross the next day.
Dai Kevin also posted a formal public apology in the residents’ group chat, admitting his wrongdoing and pledging the donation…
Inside the elevator, Jin Feng explained to Yu Zhiming, the young woman, and the others, “I checked, and the Dai Kevin’s family has no prior criminal record. His son graduates from university next year.”
“Although he did commit a crime, the societal harm was minimal and the sum wasn’t huge. Since he recognized his mistake and was willing to actively make amends, I figured I’d give him a chance to start over.”
Then, Jin Feng added gravely, “Of course, I still have to file a report on this when I get back to the station.”
“If he ever commits another offense, he’ll definitely be dealt with severely, with no leniency.”
Yu Zhiming said softly, “The law shouldn’t be devoid of human compassion. I think you handled it very well, Director Jin.”
Jin Feng smiled faintly…
Jin Feng and his colleague left in their car, and Yu Zhiming returned to his apartment with Fourth Sister and Gu Qingning.
Yu Zhiming put the well-worn medical kit back in his bedroom.
He had bought the kit not long after he started working at the county hospital and had kept it at home ever since, just in case.
Its contents were relatively simple: basic medical instruments for treating external wounds, bandaging supplies, and some emergency items like anti-inflammatory drugs, saline, and glucose.
After seeing the large, fully-equipped medical kit at the Boat Workshop Restaurant yesterday, Yu Zhiming really felt it was time to upgrade his own shabby little box.
At the very least, he should stock up on more puncture needles suited to his skills, as well as balloon catheters for controlling major hemorrhages.
After putting away the medical kit, Yu Zhiming returned to the living room to find Fourth Sister and Gu Qingning sprawled out on the sofa.
“I was thinking of going shopping, but you two look so tired…”
Before Yu Zhiming could even finish his sentence, Yu Xiangwan and Gu Qingning sprang up from the sofa, hooking his arms from either side.
“Fifth Brother, I’m not tired at all!”
“Zhiming, where are we going shopping?”