Attending ex-girlfriend's wedding, arresting the groom's officer on the spot

Wang Shuai nodded: "Tell me slowly, and explain the whole story clearly."

Zhou Ming took a deep breath, wiped away his tears, and slowly said, "Zheng Kaibin and I knew each other before; we were both in the foreign trade industry. Later, several important clients of my company suddenly disappeared. I investigated for a long time before I found out that Zheng Kaibin had leaked my client list to our competitors. Because of this, the company held me accountable and said they would fire me. I was very angry at the time and wanted to settle accounts with Zheng Kaibin."

“I found Zheng Kaibin and questioned him about why he did this. Not only did he deny it, but he also threatened me, saying that if I continued to bother him, he would expose my past thefts. I was both angry and scared at the time, so I wanted to find a way to get revenge on him. Later, I learned that Zheng Kaibin had a more complete list of foreign trade clients, which was very valuable. I thought that if I could get my hands on this list, I could not only make up for the company's losses, but also keep my job.”

"So I registered an anonymous social media account with the screen name 'Lone Ranger' and contacted Zheng Kaibin. I pretended to be a businessman who wanted to buy a client list and talked to him about the deal. Zheng Kaibin was very wary at first and asked me a lot of questions. It took me more than a month to gain his trust. We agreed to meet at 2 a.m. on November 19th at an unfinished building in the northern suburbs for the transaction, which was for 50,000 yuan."

“On the morning of the incident, I arrived at the unfinished building half an hour early. I was afraid of being recognized, so I wore a black hooded jacket, a mask, and a hat. I waited for him on the third floor of the unfinished building because it was a relatively secluded place and not easy for anyone to spot me. Around 2 a.m., Zheng Kaibin arrived. He was carrying a file bag containing a list of clients.”

“After we met, I asked him to show me the list, but he refused, saying he wanted to pay me first. So I took out 5 yuan in cash and put it in front of him. Only after he saw the money did he hand me the file bag. I opened the file bag, confirmed that it contained the client list, and was about to give him the money. But at that moment, he suddenly changed his mind, saying that 5 yuan was too little and that I needed to add another 3 yuan, otherwise he would take the list back.”

“I got really angry and we started arguing. I said we had already agreed on a price and we couldn’t raise it at the last minute. He said the list was his and he could sell it for whatever price he wanted. We argued more and more fiercely, and he even shoved me. I was pushed back a few steps and bumped into the wall. I was furious, so I took out a single-edged dagger that I had prepared beforehand from my pocket and threatened him that if he continued to make trouble, I would be ruthless to him.”

“When he saw me take out a dagger, he wasn’t afraid at all. Instead, he mocked me, saying that I wouldn’t dare kill him. He even said that even if I killed him, I wouldn’t be able to escape. I was enraged by him and lost my mind for a moment. I rushed at him with the dagger and stabbed him in the chest.” Zhou Ming’s body trembled violently as he said this, and his voice became choked with emotion.

“After I stabbed him, he fell to the ground, bleeding profusely from his chest. I was terrified and stood there motionless. After a while, I realized he wasn’t breathing and that’s when I realized I had killed someone. I was scared and wanted to run away. But I was afraid of being discovered, so I wanted to dispose of the body.”

“I found some blue plastic sheets in the unfinished building and wrapped his body in them. Then, I went through his pockets and took his wallet, which contained several hundred yuan in cash. I also took his cell phone and later threw it into the river. I took his wallet and cell phone to make people think this was a murder for money case and to divert the police’s attention.”

“After doing all that, I ran away down the west staircase. During my escape, I accidentally dropped the dagger at the scene. I was panicked and didn’t dare go back to pick it up. When I got home, I changed out of my clothes and took them to the garbage dump to burn the next day, trying to destroy the evidence. I thought that way I could get away with it, but I didn’t expect you to find me.” After Zhou Ming finished speaking, he could no longer control his emotions and collapsed onto the table, sobbing uncontrollably.

Wang Shuai and Xiao Chen listened quietly without saying a word. After Zhou Ming calmed down a bit, Wang Shuai asked, "What kind of dagger are you talking about? Where did you buy it?" Zhou Ming looked up, wiped away his tears, and said, "The dagger is single-edged, about 25 centimeters long overall, with a 15-centimeter blade. The handle is black plastic. I bought it at a roadside stall about half a year ago, but I can't remember exactly where."

"Where did you throw Zheng Kaibin's phone into the river?" Xiao Chen asked.

“They threw it into the moat in the northern suburbs,” Zhou Ming replied.

Wang Shuai nodded and asked a few more questions about the details of the case, which Zhou Ming answered one by one. After the interrogation, Wang Shuai ordered his team to take Zhou Ming away and detain him in the detention center.

Stepping out of the interrogation room, Wang Shuai let out a long sigh of relief. His hard work over the past few days had finally paid off; this thorny murder case was finally solved. He looked out the window; it was already late, but the lights in the Criminal Investigation Division building were still bright. He knew that although the case was solved, there was still much work to be done, such as verifying the details Zhou Ming had given, finding the discarded phone, and perfecting the chain of evidence.

The next morning, Wang Shuai arranged for his team to go to the moat in the northern suburbs to search for Zheng Kaibin's phone. The team searched the river all day and finally found a damaged phone in the evening. After repair by the technical department, it was confirmed that the phone belonged to Zheng Kaibin. At the same time, the team also verified other details provided by Zhou Ming, which completely matched the situation found at the scene.

The chain of evidence in the case was complete, Zhou Ming's crimes were clear, and the evidence was conclusive. Subsequently, the Municipal Criminal Investigation Detachment transferred the case to the procuratorate, requesting approval for arrest. After learning that the murderer had been apprehended, Zheng Kailan made a special trip to the Criminal Investigation Detachment to express her gratitude to Wang Shuai and his team. Holding Wang Shuai's hand, tears streamed down her face again: "Thank you, thank you for getting justice for my brother."

Wang Shuai comforted him, saying, "This is what we should do. Don't worry, the law will give your brother a fair explanation."

A few days later, the procuratorate approved Zhou Ming's arrest. This high-profile murder case involving an unfinished building in the northern suburbs finally came to a close. Zhou Ming was prosecuted for intentional homicide. He will face the full force of the law. Yang Lin, Yang Sen, Wang Shuai, and all the team members involved in the investigation could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Through their hard work and dedication, they uncovered the truth, brought the murderer to justice, delivered justice to the victim, and upheld fairness and justice in society. (End of Chapter)