143 Interrogation

Yuhua Branch, interrogation room.

Meng Jingdong sat in the interrogation chair, looking somewhat restless. He glanced at Han Bin, then at Li Hui, and finally stared at the camera on the table.

Han Bin had been observing him the entire time. He opened his notebook and began the routine questioning: "Name, age, gender..."

"Meng... Meng Jingdong. Male... I'm 31 years old..."

Han Bin set down his pen and asked, "Why are you so nervous?"

"Officer, I... this is my first time at a police station. I've never even been to a local precinct. I get really anxious as soon as I'm in a place like this." Meng Jingdong lowered his head further.

Li Hui tapped the table. "Keep your head up."

Han Bin wrote two words in his notebook: "Nervous."

Han was in charge of the interrogation while Li Hui handled the logging. However, Han Bin would occasionally jot down key terms—not for the official record, but for his own reference, so he could recall the interrogation content more quickly and accurately later.

"Meng Jingdong, take a deep breath. Don't be so nervous. You should already know why we called you here. Is there anything you'd like to say?" Han Bin asked.

"Officer, I'm innocent. I am truly innocent. I hope you can investigate this case thoroughly and clear my name." Meng Jingdong appeared very agitated.

"Have you ever been near Golden Beach?" Han Bin asked.

"Officer, you've seen the condition of my family. I have no time or energy to go to the beach for fun."

Han Bin stood up, picked up two photographs from the table, walked over to Meng Jingdong, and placed one of them on the interrogation chair. "This photo was taken near Golden Beach in the early hours of September 3rd. Your minivan was at the scene. How do you explain that?"

Meng Jingdong picked up the photo, examined it closely, and showed a look of shock. "How is this possible? I didn't drive out that night. That is definitely not my car."

Han Bin slammed the second photo onto the chair. "This one shows a clear license plate. Take a look and see if it's yours."

Meng Jingdong held the photo with both hands, his face filled with astonishment. "Lu B3Q15V... How can this be? It's exactly the same as my license plate."

"Don't ask me. You should be the one explaining this," Han Bin said sternly.

"I don't know! My legs aren't good; I never drive out at night. There must be some mistake here," Meng Jingdong shouted.

"What kind of mistake?"

"I don't know."

"Has anyone else used your car?"

"No."

"You say you don't go out at night. Who can verify that?"

"My father, my mother, and my daughter can all vouch for me," Meng Jingdong replied.

"Article 70 of the Civil Procedure Law of our country stipulates that testimony provided by a witness who has a kinship or other close relationship with a party, and which is favorable to that party, generally carries less evidentiary weight than other witness testimony," Han Bin stated.

"Officer, what does that mean?" Meng Jingdong asked, confused.

"In layman's terms, testimony from family members isn't very persuasive. It would be better to find other witnesses to make your case," Han Bin said.

"It's late at night, and there are no outsiders in our house. Who else could possibly vouch for me?"

"Take a close look—is this the car in the video yours?" Han Bin pointed at the photo.

Meng Jingdong examined it carefully again and said with difficulty, "This... it's late at night, and the photo isn't very clear. I can't be sure."

"Have you ever worked in the telecommunications industry?"

"I don't have that kind of skill," Meng Jingdong said with a bitter smile. "Officer, you suspect me of theft. Exactly what was stolen?"

"Telecommunications base station equipment rooms were broken into. We checked the surveillance footage nearby, and your car appeared near three of the crime scenes."

"That's impossible. I didn't do it. Could it be that someone cloned my plates to frame me?" Meng Jingdong speculated.

"Have you offended anyone?"

Meng Jingdong lowered his head. "In my position, it's enough that others don't bully me; I wouldn't dare offend anyone."

"What do you do for a living?"

"I haul passengers," Meng Jingdong explained, fearing they wouldn't understand. "A lot of people in our village set up stalls in the city. I drive them into the city in the morning, help people haul goods during the day, and then take them back to the village at night."

"Besides you, how many other people in Daxicun village have minivans?" Han Bin asked.

"There are quite a few people in the village with minivans. I don't know the exact number, but those I can name are Sun Baoqing, Song Maiqiao, Meng Chengyong, Tang Zhiming... and Zhang..." Meng Jingdong looked thoughtful. "I can't think of the others for the moment."

"Think it over carefully. Only by finding enough evidence can you prove your innocence," Han Bin cautioned.

"Yes."

...

Second Team Office.

Zeng Ping was reviewing case files, while Tian Li, Zhao Ming, and Sun Xiaopeng were examining surveillance footage.

Seeing Han Bin and Li Hui walk into the office, Zeng Ping set down his file. "Interrogation finished?"

"Finished," Li Hui said, sitting down lightly in his chair.

Han Bin poured a cup of tea. He felt parched after every interrogation and had to drink a few sips first.

"Did he confess?"

"No."

"Does Meng Jingdong have an alibi?" Zeng Ping asked.

"Meng Jingdong says he never goes out at night, but only his parents and daughter can verify that," Han Bin replied.

"His alibi shouldn't carry much weight, then," Zhao Ming remarked. "How did he explain his car appearing near the crime scenes?"

"According to his statement, he has never lent his car to anyone. He suspects someone cloned his plates to frame him."

"Does he have any suspects?"

"No."

"Based on the current evidence, he remains a strong suspect," Tian Li said.

"Any new findings from the surveillance?" Han Bin asked in return.

"On the night of September 4th, that same minivan was found near another stolen base station. It has now been spotted near four different crime scenes. I don't think this can be explained as a coincidence anymore. We can basically confirm that this vehicle is the perpetrator's means of transport," Tian Li analyzed.

"It could still be a cloned vehicle," Li Hui suggested.

"Where's the evidence?" Tian Li gestured with her hands. "We can't rule him out just because Meng Jingdong's family is poor."

"Tian Li is right. Meng Jingdong doesn't have a sufficient alibi, and he can't prove his plates were cloned. He remains the prime suspect," Zeng Ping agreed. As a police officer, one must make objective judgments.

At that moment, Sun Xiaopeng suddenly shouted, "Captain Zeng, I have a new lead!"

"What lead?"

"I just zoomed in on a high-definition image and noticed that the suspect's vehicle is slightly different from Meng Jingdong's."

Everyone gathered around. "How is it different?"

Sun Xiaopeng pointed at the video screenshot. It was a front view of the car; the driver's side sun visor was down, obscuring the driver's face.

"The suspect's vehicle has a red apple ornament on the dashboard. Meng Jingdong's car doesn't have one."

Han Bin recalled for a moment. "That's true. I inspected Meng Jingdong's car; there definitely wasn't an ornament on his dashboard."

"Could it be that after the crime, he removed the apple ornament because he was afraid of being caught by the police?" Zhao Ming suggested.

"These types of car ornaments are usually fixed with strong glue. Even if you remove the ornament, it's hard to clean off the adhesive completely; there would still be some traces left," Han Bin said after taking a sip of tea. "Besides, if Meng Jingdong really had that kind of foresight, he would have covered his license plate, and we might not have been able to track him down at all."

"Han Bin's analysis is sound. It's very likely a cloned vehicle," Zeng Ping agreed, then pointed at Sun Xiaopeng. "Good work. I'll make sure you're credited for this."

Sun Xiaopeng grinned. "Captain Zeng, you're too kind."

"Damn it, if it's a cloned car, doesn't that mean we've lost our lead?" Li Hui sighed.

The group fell into a brief silence. After a while, Han Bin spoke slowly:

"Not necessarily."