Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 557 King of Evidence—Confession?
Criminal Investigation Department, Conference Room.

Forensic pathologist Lao Cao walked in through the door, carrying a stack of documents.

Nie Chaofan and Xiao Ma stood up at the same time and asked in unison, "Is there a result yet?"

Since taking on the case, Nie Chaofan, the lead police officer, has been under immense pressure due to the lack of conclusive evidence. His hair is disheveled and his beard is unkempt, and he has no time to take care of himself.

At this moment, he stared wide-eyed at Lao Cao with his bloodshot eyes.

Xiao Ma fared slightly better. Although he had to travel back and forth between the two places in a short period of time, he at least got to rest in the car, and as a young man, he had relatively better energy and stamina.

Old Cao frowned and stared at the two of them without saying a word; his attitude had already made his answer clear.

Nie Chaofan swayed precariously, let out a long sigh, and collapsed into a chair.

Xiao Ma hadn't given up. He stepped forward and grabbed Lao Cao's sleeve, saying unwillingly, "Master Cao, did you find a match?"

Old Cao glanced at Nie Chaofan, who was slumped in his chair, and shook his head.

Xiao Ma gritted his teeth and said, "It's okay, I'll go to their village again tomorrow. This time I'll stay a few more days and collect the DNA from all the men in the village!"

Old Cao said with a wry smile, "Little Ma, do you know how much it costs to do a DNA comparison at the experimental center? Two thousand! Two thousand for just one comparison!"

"Human life is at stake; we must investigate even if it costs 20,000!"

"But would anyone be willing to work overtime every day to do this useless work for you?"

"How could it be a wasted effort! The suspect might be hiding right here!"

"You've already made one trip, but they've already gotten wind of it and fled to other provinces to lay low. China is so big, are you planning to go to every single place one by one?"

"Well, we still have to give it a try."

"Don't make things worse. A pointless investigation is just a waste of police resources. Besides, there are still two suspects in the cage. Do you think your suggestion to conduct a full village-wide investigation will get the support of the leadership?"

With that, Lao Cao gently patted Xiao Ma on the shoulder, placed the comparison report on the table, and left.

Xiao Ma paced anxiously around the room, muttering to himself, "It's been two days and two nights and we still haven't gotten anything out of them. What should we do now? What should we do?"

Nie Chaofan said in a hoarse voice, "They've been starving for days. Go to the cafeteria and bring them some food."

Xiao Ma paused: "Nie Tan, does this mean you've given up?"

Nie Chaofan remained silent, his neck stiff as he flipped through the case files, which had already become worn out in just a few days.

"boom."

The conference room door opened, and Captain Wei from the technical investigation unit walked in with several police officers from the headquarters, all smiling.

"Detective Nie, have the suspects confessed? Come on, have a smoke. We've caught them, why are you still frowning?"

Nie Chaofan pushed him away with his hand and said helplessly, "The two suspects haven't confessed yet, and the DNA samples didn't match. Sigh!"

Captain Wei pulled up a chair and sat down, pointing west with his index finger. He lowered his voice and said, "The city government liaison officer doesn't look too good. He sounded like he got yelled at when he answered the phone. Tsk tsk, they're smashing things and throwing a tantrum next door right now. Detective Nie, we'd better hurry."

Nie Chaofan vigorously wiped his face and forced a smile: "Thanks for the reminder, Captain Wei. I'll take some men over to interrogate him again later. It's just that it might be difficult to get a confession right away."

"If there's no confession, just interrogate them. They'll all be there in a minute. Anyway, it's definitely just these two. They can't escape." Captain Wei got up and walked out. As he passed Nie Chaofan, he patted him on the shoulder and gave him a playful smile.

After closing the door, Captain Wei suddenly opened it halfway again and said with a smile, "I forgot to tell you, the head of the Criminal Investigation Department said that after this case is closed, they will reserve a place for you in the pre-trial hearing."

As he spoke, he turned his head and smiled at the other side: "Right? Zhang Da."

"Yes, weren't you here when we were talking about this?" Captain Wei turned around, beaming. "Old Nie, oh no, Brother Nie, make the most of this opportunity."

After everyone from the government offices had left, the meeting room fell silent once more.

Nie Chaofan felt something was off about his head. It was as if he had been feeling heavy and weak, and then suddenly something was injected into him.
"Jingle Bell."

Nie Chaofan looked at the phone and saw that it was a call from the captain.

"Old Nie, how's the case going?" came the slightly anxious voice of the captain over the phone.

Two days have passed since the suspect was apprehended, but the case remains unsolved with no further developments. As the head of the Criminal Investigation Division, he is genuinely getting anxious.

Nie Chaofan glanced at Xiao Ma beside him, and Xiao Ma consciously left the meeting room, closing the door behind him.

"He's very stubborn and hasn't confessed yet." Nie Chaofan said somewhat dejectedly.

There was a moment of silence on the phone, then a long sigh came from the captain, "Sigh! It's already been extended to forty-eight hours. If it drags on any longer, we'll have to release him. Our criminal investigation team really can't afford to lose face like this."

"Lin Da, I...I want to try again." The last words Wei had said before leaving flashed through his mind, and Nie Chaofan said as if possessed.

"Old Nie, don't feel guilty. I'm retiring soon anyway, so one more case won't make a difference. If you really can't handle it, then forget it, but don't get yourself involved. The environment is different now than before, so you can't do anything reckless." As a veteran criminal investigator, the captain immediately understood what Nie Chaofan meant by wanting to try again.

"Lin Da, I... sigh." Nie Chaofan had no words to say and could only let out a long sigh.

"."

"Dudu."

After hanging up the phone, Nie Chaofan put his hands to his forehead and closed his eyes.

He was completely at a loss as to how to proceed with the case.

The video surveillance didn't capture it, the DNA samples didn't match, there was no other evidence, and the only thing left to convict was the confession.

Twenty years of tireless, round-the-clock investigation and case handling;

My elderly parents are in dire need of my care and companionship;

A wife and children who have been separated for a long time and need to be protected;

Pressure from higher authorities to solve the case;
The desire for promotion;
Numerous thoughts swirled together, raging through Nie Chaofan's mind like a tornado.

Sweep away everything, and return to tranquility.

"Confession!"

Nie Chaofan raised his head, his eyes flashing with a fierce light.

----

PS: Article 55 of the Criminal Procedure Law establishes the principle of "emphasizing evidence, emphasizing investigation and research, and not readily believing confessions." However, in practice, whether twenty years ago or today, confessions remain the king of evidence.

The only difference is that in the past, "confessions were valued more than evidence," but now, physical evidence, documentary evidence, audio-visual materials, and other objective evidence are required to corroborate the claims. Evidence must be formed, otherwise the prosecutor's office will not accept it.

In other words, a conviction cannot be based solely on a confession, because confessions cannot corroborate each other. However, in actual case handling, other evidence can still be found, and if it cannot be found immediately, it can be obtained through forensic examination.

While relying solely on confessions can certainly lead to wrongful convictions, requiring a complete chain of evidence also inevitably results in criminals escaping justice.

To go a step further, a conviction cannot be based solely on a confession without evidence.

Is this a reward and incentive for criminals who perfectly hide and destroy evidence?
(End of this chapter)