Our correspondent, Jin Xingzhe and Pan Hong; our Wenzhou-based reporter, Miao Lina.
When you see someone else's forgotten bank card in an ATM machine, what would you do?
Some people think this is a windfall from heaven, so they extend their hands to take the money that does not belong to them. But what they didn't realize was that every move they made had already been recorded by the bank's surveillance camera.
Recently, the Economic Investigation Team of Ruian Public Security Bureau released the portraits of 22 such criminal suspects. Soon after, two suspects turned themselves in, three were arrested, and the identities of another three have been confirmed, with police issuing a nationwide manhunt order.
Many clues related to the other 14 individuals have also been gathered by the police, who are currently verifying them further. It is believed that with the vast net of justice, they will soon be brought to book.
The two who turned themselves in said: "After taking the ill-gotten wealth, we couldn’t sleep peacefully for a single day."
Xie, from Tongpu in Ruian, was the first suspect to turn himself in voluntarily.
At around 9 a.m. on April 26, he discovered a credit card left behind by the previous user in an ATM machine and withdrew 8000 yuan from the card.
Since then, he has been uneasy every day, keeping the money at home and not daring to use it, always worrying that the matter would one day come to light.
Now, the police have released his portrait. That same day, relatives and friends called to advise him to surrender. After two sleepless nights, he finally decided to surrender to the Public Security Bureau and returned the 8000 yuan illegally obtained.
Young Yu, 26 years old, had a similar experience. On the afternoon of September 29 last year, he withdrew 14500 yuan in cash from someone else's credit card in seven installments. For the following year, he did not have a single peaceful night.
Now, Young Yu has also surrendered to the Public Security Bureau. He said that he dared not use or tell his family about the ill-gotten wealth, nor could he return it voluntarily. When he saw his photo as a suspect published in the newspaper, he hesitated for a week before finally walking into the Public Security Bureau and returning more than 10,000 yuan.
It is reported that recently, Xie and Young Yu, suspected of bank card fraud, have been released on bail pending trial and have been transferred to the procuratorate for prosecution.
According to the case-handling police officer of the Economic Investigation Team, according to relevant laws and regulations, since Xie and Young Yu voluntarily surrendered and actively returned the stolen money, they will receive a lighter sentence.
Based on public reports, three other suspects were arrested by the police.
Is returning the money enough? No, without turning oneself in, one remains a fugitive.
Suspects who surrender will receive a lighter sentence, but some still harbor侥幸 (a lucky mentality), thinking that returning the money means everything is fine.
Cheng, a male from Jiangxi Province, illegally withdrew 12,000 yuan using a bank card left behind by someone else in an ATM machine on April 10 this year. After receiving a tip-off, the police notified him to surrender as soon as possible.
Cheng quickly sent 12,000 yuan through others to the Public Security Bureau, but he himself refused to go to the police station for various reasons.
The police are still calling for him to surrender, but Cheng doesn't seem to understand. Through others, he asked the police officers, "Didn't I already return the money to the owner?"
There are two others with the same mentality as Cheng.
"Even if the money has been returned after the incident, it is still a criminal offense, and the person must personally appear in court," said the case-handling police officer. These suspects illegally possess others' property and will be held accountable for credit card fraud. "Since they have shown regret, they might as well go all the way and surrender themselves to receive a lighter punishment."
Currently, Cheng and the other two have been listed as wanted fugitives by the police department.
The police found that these people all considered for a few seconds, unfortunately, they all ended up extending their hands.
How did these suspects "make a fatal mistake"?
Yesterday, in the bank surveillance video released by the police, I witnessed such a scene.
At around 6 p.m. on August 27 this year, someone forgot their card in an ATM machine after withdrawing money at a local bank. Subsequently, two women arrived with a child.
One of the women noticed the forgotten card in the ATM machine and informed the woman behind her. The two stood there and discussed for a moment before withdrawing over 19,000 yuan from the card.
According to the police officer, they reviewed the surveillance footage of these individuals when they withdrew the money, and found a common point: when they discovered the forgotten card in the ATM machine, they all hesitated for a few seconds before starting to withdraw money. "This shows that they all temporarily succumbed to greed. If during those few seconds of consideration, they chose to report it or let the card be swallowed, they wouldn't have become criminal suspects."
Most of these suspects are aged between 20 and 40, including both locals from Ruian and migrant workers.