Zheng confessed to the police about the process of stealing cables, and this was already his second time committing a crime for stealing cables. Reporter Huang Dunfeng took the photo. "I stole wires to sell them, just so I could have a good sleep in the internet cafe." The 17-year-old Jiangxi native Zheng, along with his accomplice, stole wires at Xidi and then jumped into the river. They played hide-and-seek with the police in a culvert under the Pearl River and subsequently escaped (our newspaper reported on this specifically on May 27). Yesterday morning, the police caught Zheng while he was sleeping in an internet cafe. Written by reporter Lu Jianluan.
On May 26, the incident involving two suspects jumping into the river after stealing wires attracted widespread attention. In the early hours of yesterday morning, the Liwan police captured suspect Zheng at an internet cafe on Xihao Second Road and arrested suspect Weng on Pingdong Road, ensuring both suspects were apprehended within less than 48 hours after the case occurred.
Citizens Reported the "Fugitives Who Fell Into the Water"
The head of the Lingnan Police Station's investigation team, Officer Qiu, introduced that after the two suspects jumped into the river and disappeared, the police conducted interviews along the riverbank and learned from nearby residents that around 1 p.m. on the 26th, two suspicious individuals climbed ashore next to the Renmin Bridge, completely drenched and acting suspiciously. The police immediately reviewed relevant surveillance footage, basically confirming these two individuals as the suspects who had jumped into the river after stealing the wires.
Both Have Prior Records
After investigation and interrogation, both admitted to the criminal act of jumping into the river to escape after stealing the wires. It is claimed they swam through culverts in the Pearl River, avoiding the water police, and eventually landed near the Renmin Bridge, about five or six hundred meters away from the incident site. The total value of the stolen wires was over 2800 yuan, and due to evading the police pursuit, they threw the wires along with their tools into the water.
It is understood that suspect Zheng is 17 years old, from Jiangxi province, and was released from a juvenile detention center on May 13 for the same offense of stealing wires; suspect Weng is 19 years old, from Leizhou, Guangdong province, and was criminally detained last year for participating in a brawl in Yuexiu district; suspect Chen, who was caught at the scene on May 26, is 18 years old, from Sichuan province, and was responsible for keeping watch in the case. Currently, all three suspects have been criminally detained by the police.
Growing Up Selling Flowers, Turning to Crime Out of Desperation
A flower-selling child grows up without education or ID card, facing job rejections, encounters delinquent youths, and embarks on a path of crime.
In the courtroom, the reporter met one of the suspects, the 17-year-old Zheng. He lowered his head and recounted a heart-wrenching experience — when Zheng was 6 years old, he followed a fellow villager from his hometown in Pingxiang, Jiangxi, to Guangzhou, and since then, he has been selling flowers with the villager. At that time, there were many children selling flowers in areas like Yuexiu Park and Taojin in Guangzhou. They would target couples, clinging to the men's legs and insisting on selling flowers, and Zheng was one of them.
By the time he was around 10 years old, Zheng was no longer a child and couldn't continue selling flowers, so he wanted to work. However, because he only attended school until the first grade and lacked an ID card and health certificate, he faced numerous rejections when looking for jobs. His only job experience was delivering takeout for a fast-food restaurant owner, but he didn't receive a single penny after working for less than two months because the boss ran away.
Zheng stated that out of desperation, he could only live off his father, who collected scrap in the Liwan area. One day while playing by the river, he met the similarly homeless youths Weng and Chen, and the three quickly formed a plan to steal wires.
Zheng said he developed a liking for going online. When he was caught yesterday, he was also at an internet cafe on Xihao Second Road. "I steal wires to sell them, just so I can have a good sleep in the internet cafe."
Comments are welcome. My comment Weibo recommendation | Today's Weibo hot topics (Editor: SN003)