latelenovela Chapter 1038 The Interrogation Ends, The Murder Process
Chapter 1038 The Interrogation Ends, The Murder Process
“I used a rope from his house to tie the body up, intending to lower it through the window, but I accidentally hit a rock wall.” Wang Zhandang recalled the axonal injury to the head in the autopsy report, his eyes filled with fear. “Later, I stuffed the body into the trunk of my car and contacted Zhao Liqiang to pick it up. At the building materials market, we transferred the body to a hidden compartment in his truck. Zhao Liqiang was responsible for transporting it to the suburbs to dispose of the body. I gave him 5 yuan and also taught him how to forge an alibi.”
How do you explain the footprints and fingerprints found at the scene?
“I left the footprints on purpose to mislead you,” Wang Zhandang said weakly, having completely given up resistance. “The fingerprints… I was wearing gloves, but they probably came off during the struggle. I cleaned the scene and wiped everything with bleach, but I didn’t expect to leave so many clues.”
Seeing the other person's distressed state, Xiao Wang continued to press, "Why did you delete the dashcam video?"
“I’m afraid that video will become irrefutable evidence.” Wang Zhandang shook his head with a wry smile. “I thought that formatting would solve everything, but I didn’t expect you could recover it. And those search records, I was blinded by greed at the time, trying to figure out how to get away with it. Now it seems like I dug my own grave.”
A long silence fell over the interrogation room, broken only by Wang Zhandang's heavy breathing. Looking at this once impeccably dressed man, Xiao Wang felt a surge of complex emotions. Just as he was about to end the interrogation, Wang Zhandang suddenly looked up: "Zhang Bing has a USB drive with evidence of the factory smuggling waste. I couldn't find it; it should still be hidden somewhere..."
With Wang Zhandang's complete confession, the truth behind this perplexing murder case was finally revealed.
However, in addition to this, the situation of the plastics factory also needs to be understood.
"Tell me about the Hongyuan Plastics Factory case. How many people are in your group?"
Wang Zhandang slumped in the interrogation chair, sweat soaking his shirt collar, which gleamed eerily under the cold lights. He looked up, his eyes blankly staring at the ceiling, and suddenly spoke: "There are three more people. They were all involved in the scrap theft... namely, warehouse supervisor Liu Dehai, purchasing department manager Zhou Ming, and night shift security captain Wu Gang." The air in the interrogation room seemed to freeze as soon as he finished speaking. Wang's eyes sharpened instantly, and he immediately issued orders through the walkie-talkie: "All teams, take note! Immediately arrest Liu Dehai, Zhou Ming, and Wu Gang!"
The arrest operation unfolded swiftly. It was late at night, and Liu Dehai was fast asleep at home. Before he was fully awake, the police burst through the door and handcuffed him. His eyes widened, his face filled with terror: "What...what are you doing? I haven't broken the law!" Meanwhile, Zhou Ming was drinking with friends at a bar. Under the flashing neon lights, the moment he saw the police, his expression changed drastically, and he took off running, but was quickly tackled to the ground by swift officers. Wu Gang was on duty in the security room. When a group of heavily armed police officers appeared before him, he silently put down his teacup and voluntarily extended his hands.
After bringing the three men back to the police station, the interrogation began intensively. Xiao Wang personally interrogated Liu Dehai. When he entered the interrogation room, Liu Dehai was looking down, his fingers unconsciously rubbing together on his knees. "Liu Dehai, do you know why you were arrested?" Xiao Wang's voice was deep and forceful, echoing in the small interrogation room. Liu Dehai trembled, but forced himself to remain calm: "I don't know. I've always been working lawfully."
"Keep to your own business?" Xiao Wang sneered, slamming a stack of documents on the table. "The scrap materials that have gone missing from Hongyuan Plastics Factory's warehouse in the past six months are worth over a million. As the warehouse manager, how could you be completely unaware? Wang Zhandang has already confessed everything. Do you still intend to resist?" Upon hearing Wang Zhandang's name, Liu Dehai's shoulders visibly slumped. After a long silence, he finally spoke: "I... I had no choice. Wang Zhandang approached me, saying that as long as I turned a blind eye, he would give me a share of the profits each time. I thought I could earn more money, so..." His voice trailed off, and his head drooped even lower.
"Tell me specifically how the theft was carried out?" Xiao Wang pressed. Liu Dehai took a deep breath: "Wang Zhandang would inform me in advance and arrange for the truck to enter the factory during the night shift. Wu Gang was responsible for letting the truck in and would also help keep watch. Zhou Ming was responsible for modifying the warehouse's inbound and outbound records, making the stolen scrap appear as if it had been shipped out normally. After the truck arrived, I would arrange for trusted workers to load it, always leaving through the back door of the warehouse, so no one would notice."
Meanwhile, in another interrogation room, Zhou Ming was facing off against his interrogator. He kept wiping the sweat from his brow, his eyes darting around: "I'm just a low-level employee, I'm just following orders from above." The interrogator showed him the altered inventory records on the computer: "You manipulated these records, didn't you? The time of the data modification, the IP address—it all points to you." Zhou Ming opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything. Finally, he slumped back in his chair, deflated: "Wang Zhandang said he'd give me benefits if I helped him change the data. I was thinking about getting a promotion and a raise, and I got completely blinded by greed..."
Wu Gang's interrogation, however, was unusually calm. He sat in the interrogation chair, his expression indifferent: "I knew this day would come. From the moment I received the first sum of money, I knew I couldn't escape it." The interrogator was somewhat surprised: "Then why didn't you stop in time?" Wu Gang shook his head with a bitter smile: "At first it was for the money, but later I had no choice. Wang Zhandang had dirt on me, and I dared not disobey him. He told me to let the trucks into the factory and even arranged for people to patrol the factory area, avoiding the back gate of the warehouse; I did everything he said."
As the three confessed, the criminal chain of Hongyuan Plastics Factory's theft of waste materials gradually became clear.
They had a clear division of labor and worked together to smuggle large quantities of waste that should have been destroyed out of the factory, and then sold them through illegal channels for profit.
Wang Zhandang pressed his forehead against the cold iron table, his Adam's apple bobbing as he began to explain: "Our plan started last spring. At that time, the factory replaced its equipment with new ones, producing three times more waste than before, but the management kept delaying updating the disposal plan." When he looked up, a hint of madness flashed in his eyes, "So much money-making stuff, just burning it and burying it, it's such a waste."
The entire criminal chain operated like a finely tuned gear, each link fitting perfectly. Liu Dehai, as the warehouse manager, possessed crucial information about the waste storage. Three days in advance, he would compile a table listing the types, quantities, and locations of the waste, then transmit it to Wang Zhandang using encrypted software. "Those blue metal boxes labeled 'Hazardous Waste' are the most valuable; the purified polyvinyl chloride granules inside can sell for 70% of the market price," Liu Dehai gestured with his handcuffed hands during interrogation. "I would specifically assign newly arrived temporary workers to handle the handling; they had no idea of the goods' value."