What's wrong with this lawyer?!

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What's there to discuss? The main topic, of course, is the issue of crime by the village committee as a unit. With the situation blowing up as it has, and with the fire that Wen Weilin added, an unequivocal response is urgently needed: whether it's possible or not.

Before this, many were unaware of the severity of the problem in the village. And now, it was all brought to light by Old Tang, stirring up a frenzy of online public opinion and compelling the relevant parties to provide a definite response.

Because of this, Section Chief Jia looked at Old Tang before him with great admiration. With his own efforts, he had stirred up a storm, and if the provincial high court really confirmed that a village committee could be the subject of unit crime, it would be as if Old Tang had set a rule for Handong!

But the credit wasn't really Old Tang's to claim. The legal standards varied from province to province, with some places taking bolder and bigger steps.

In places like Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, there had already been regulations that allowed for village committees to be subjects of unit crime, jointly issued by the provincial high courts, the supreme people's procuratorate, and the public security bureau.

But Handong didn't have such regulations, which meant they were still relying on previous responses from the Ministry of Public Security.

Hearing this, Old Tang smiled slightly and said, "Section Chief Jia, this really doesn't have much to do with me, at best I'm a catalyst. But today, I've come to say that in this case, the village committee of Ertou Village should not be established as a subject of unit crime!"

"Yes, indeed it shouldn't be unit crime…huh? Wait, Lawyer Tang, what are you saying?" Section Chief Jia was utterly confused.

Really, take a look at what you're saying. When you first reported the case, you said it should be investigated as a unit crime, and later when you initiated a private criminal prosecution in court, you also called it a unit crime. Now you're saying it shouldn't be classified as a unit crime?

"Section Chief Jia, don't rush. The person I expect you've almost brought back, once interrogated, we'll know. For unit crimes, the illegal profits should belong to the unit, but in this case, I suspect that all the illegal profits have gone to that director, and at most, to his brother as well," said Old Tang.

Although the ill-gotten gains couldn't compare to the value of the fruit orchard, they were still ill-gotten gains.

"Of course, Section Chief Jia, I'm just speculating. After all, here in Handong we don't have any regulations, and the Ministry of Public Security's response is still valid. This case should really be a public prosecution case…" Old Tang said.

At this point, Old Tang's phone rang. He stood up and said, "Well, Section Chief Jia, I've got something else to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."

Section Chief Jia, with a puzzled expression, nodded his head.

After Old Tang left, the police responsible for making arrests entered and said, "Section Chief Jia, we have brought people back, but there's something you should know."

"Apart from Ding Deshui, the others were all saying that everything was orchestrated by Ding Deshui, their votes were just for show, and even the demolition was done by contractors hired by Ding himself, though it was put on the books of the village committee..."

What? Section Chief Jia immediately stood up and said, "Why didn't they mention this when we first investigated? Forget it, let's not talk about that for now. Let's interrogate them thoroughly!"

After finishing his statement, Section Chief Jia prepared to speak with the leaders. Tang Fangjing was right, this case was originally supposed to be a public prosecution case, and now someone had turned it into a private prosecution and the court had taken the matter to the point of making arrests, which amounted to a slap in their face.

If it is a public prosecution case, the public security organ definitely needs to take charge!

In the response from the Ministry of Public Security, it was mentioned that for crimes committed in the name of the village committee, criminal liability could be pursued for those directly responsible and other managers.

Although the police, the procuratorate, and the judiciary are all parts of the same system, at times like these, it's better to follow the instructions of the ministry.

It seems one of the political and legal entities has been forgotten…never mind, it's not important. They're used to being overlooked anyway.

Outside, Old Tang went to the gate and answered his phone: "Hello, Lao Huang, what's up?"

On the other end of the line, Huang Licheng, who was at the construction site, spoke excitedly, "Director Tang, about that, Ding Deshui and the others have been arrested, right?"

Hearing this, Old Tang chuckled and replied, "You're quite well-informed, but they haven't been arrested. It should be just the questioning phase right now."

Huang Licheng hastily said, "A relative told me; they were seen being taken away."

Old Tang on the phone once again laughed and said, "Since you already know, I won't say much else. Anyway, the state compensation you're due should be coming soon. Also, I wanted to let you know the compensation for your orchard is looking very promising, too. Just wait for it."

The proceedings were indeed going smoothly. If these people were classified as committing unit crime, the monetary compensation would have to come from the unit. And of course, after the unit pays, it can still seek compensation from the managers who caused the unit crime.

It might sound convoluted, but just think of the 'unit' as a 'person.'

Huang Licheng had been previously warned of the risks when he considered suing: the village committee had no money, which is why from the beginning Old Tang didn't plan to define it as a case of unit crime!

This was what he had told Huang Licheng: go after whoever has the money. It looked like the Ding brothers were the ones with the most money...

It just goes to show, the broken-windows theory can be endlessly applied—proven effective time and again...