In order to create the realistic effect of being injured in a car accident, the "car collision gang" actually broke the arms of two 17-year-old teenagers in their group using an iron rod. They successfully extorted money in multiple incidents in Jiangmen, Zhongshan, Kaiping and other places. On August 22, Mr. Shi, a citizen of Zhongshan who had been extorted by this "car collision gang," reported it to the police, leading to the downfall of this gang led by Chen Moujia, with five members of the gang being arrested.
Before breaking their arms, they would freeze them for dozens of minutes.
According to Xiao Yang's introduction, before breaking his arm, he had to put his hand into a bucket filled with ice cubes and freeze it for 40 to 50 minutes. When the hand was numb from the cold, the leader would use an iron rod about half a meter long to hit the smaller bone in the arm with just the right amount of force so that the arm bone would break cleanly without piercing through the muscles. The person whose arm was broken would usually take painkillers to relieve the pain and could not have any other bandages or treatments.
Each person whose arm was broken would work for about half a month before needing to be replaced by another person or using the other arm, to prevent doctors from noticing it was an old injury. Generally, the gang leaders would find teenagers under 20 years old to break their arms because they grow and recover quickly.
According to the confession of some members of the gang, some were voluntary while others were deceived into joining. The leaders would threaten them, saying that if their arm was broken, it would cost over 10,000 yuan to treat. If they worked honestly, the "boss" would help treat their arm. Some of the forced teenagers agreed to participate in frauds arranged by the gang so that the "boss" would treat their hands. Before going to the hospital for treatment, they also had to introduce others to join. Xiao Chen in the gang was deceived when Xiao Yang went to Dongguan for treatment, and immediately after arriving in Jiangmen, his arm was broken.
Psychological tactics: targeting rule-breaking cars makes extortion easy.
According to Li Mou, a member of the gang, every time they went out, Chen Moujia would choose a location and then notify the gang members to go there and look for targets. According to Chen Moujia, they generally chose areas where cars are prone to violations. Upon spotting a violation, they would immediately call on the teenager with the broken arm to pretend to be hit by the car and fall down injured. Then Li Mou would step forward and claim that the "offending car" had hit his "younger brother," demanding that the "driver at fault" take them to the hospital for a check-up.
Once the "X-ray" examination proved that the "victim's" arm was broken, most drivers who had violated traffic rules first would become quite nervous. Li Mou would then call Chen Moujia and others to come and negotiate, claiming that if the arm was broken, medical expenses and nutritional fees would cost more than 10,000 yuan. However, if the "driver at fault" gave them some money, they could take the child to the countryside for treatment, which would only cost a few thousand yuan and include a note guaranteeing no further pursuit of responsibility against the driver.
Li Mou said that most drivers, fearing trouble or police checks, would generally agree. It was just a matter of how much money, usually several thousand yuan, with better cases yielding five or six thousand. In cases where the driver had little money, even over a thousand yuan would suffice. If the "driver at fault" called the police, they would quickly leave.
The gang members usually went out every day, committing crimes in Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Kaiping and other places. After deducting expenses, the remaining money was split evenly. After working for over ten days, Yang Mou earned over 3,000 yuan.
Interview with a Broken Arm Youth: Voluntarily broke arm to earn pocket money
Xiao Yang experienced unprecedented pain and began to feel remorse for deceiving classmates into joining the gang.
Xiao Yang (referred to as Yang): It was in May this year. After finishing high school, I didn't want to study anymore, so I came to Guangdong to play with friends, but I ran out of money. Later, someone told me about this job, saying it earns money quickly and doesn't harm the body, so I found him (Chen Moujia) in Jiangmen.
Reporter: Did you know your arm would be broken at that time?
Yang: Yes, but they said it would heal in about ten days, young people recover quickly, and many others had done it without problems.
Reporter: Didn't it hurt?
Yang: It hurt terribly! I've never felt such pain!
Reporter: How did they treat your wound?
Yang: They didn't do much. When it hurt, I took some painkillers. Sometimes I couldn't sleep at night because of the pain, but I gradually got used to it.
Reporter: How did you normally move around? Was it convenient?
Yang: After a few days, it wasn't too bad. Normally, I just went out with them to "work," then came back to sleep or watch them play mahjong.
Reporter: What did you do with the money you earned?
Yang: We usually ate out together and played. After deducting expenses, we split the money evenly.
Reporter: How much money did you earn in total?
Yang: It depends on one's "performance." I worked for about ten days and earned around 3,000 yuan.
Reporter: Were you happy to earn money?
Yang: Well, since I like to play, if my hand is fine later, I think it's acceptable. Nowadays, it's hard to earn much money by working.
Reporter: So you introduced your classmate to join?
Yang: He and I get along well and he also likes to play. When we were short of money, this way we could earn some pocket money, so I introduced him.
Reporter: Don't you feel like you're harming him?
Yang: Now I'm a bit regretful and feel quite guilty, feeling sorry for him.
Deceived Xiao Chen joined the car collision gang, and after his arm was broken, he dared not report to the police or tell his family.
Xiao Chen (referred to as Chen): My middle school classmate Xiao Yang asked me to come and play, so I came.
Reporter: What happened after you arrived here?
Chen: They brought me into a room and made me put one hand in a bucket full of ice cubes for half an hour. I felt dizzy, then three people pressed me down on the ground. I didn't know what happened until I felt my right arm being hit twice. I screamed in pain and realized a few minutes later that my arm was broken, and it still hurts now.
Reporter: What happened after your arm was broken?
Chen: They made me sit on the back of a bicycle, then pretended that I was knocked down by a passing car. Then they took me to the hospital and claimed that my arm was broken, asking the driver who hit me to compensate.
Reporter: Was your broken arm treated?
Chen: No, they said they would treat me if I listened to them. They also bought me medicine for osteophyte growth, but I knew if I took it, my arm wouldn't heal, so I pretended to take two pills and then threw away the rest of the bottle.
Reporter: Did you consider reporting to the police or contacting your family?
Chen: I couldn't. They told me if I reported to the police or contacted my family, they wouldn't treat me. They said it would cost over 10,000 yuan to cure, and I called home, but I didn't dare to tell them, fearing they would worry about me and also fearing the boss wouldn't treat me.
Reporter: Do your family know now?
Chen: They don't know. I can't tell them. If I could go back, I would definitely tell them the truth.
Reporter: Didn't you ask Xiao Yang why he called you here?
Chen: His arm was also broken, and I didn't ask. We have no choice (expression very blank).
Reporter: Do you hate your classmate?
Chen: I don't hate him, I only hate them (pointing to Yang Moujia and other gang members).
Car Collision Gang Members Unveiled:
Chen Moujia, male, 36 years old, from Yingde, Guangdong, mastermind behind the car collision scheme and responsible for impersonating family members to extort drivers.
Li Mou, female, 32 years old, from Guangxi, girlfriend of Chen Moujia, impersonated the victim's family during the crime.
Yang Mou, male, 17 years old, from Jiangxi, voluntarily broke his arm to impersonate the victim and carry out extortion.
Chen Mou, male, 17 years old, from Jiangxi, deceived by Yang Mou to break his arm and participate in extortion.
Qiu Mou, male, 28 years old, from Jiangmen, joined the gang responsible for driving the bread van.
"Hua Zi" and "Zhu Zi" (both at large), played different roles such as family members.