Nawu Police Station: Xie Zhuorong Fined 24,000 Yuan for Buying六合cai (Illegal Lottery)
Report by Southern Rural Newspaper (Reporter Xian Wei Feng): The former chief of the Nawu Police Station under the jurisdiction of Huazhou Public Security Bureau in Maoming, Guangdong Province, Su Kong Cai, was recently arrested. According to reports from Southern Rural Newspaper, Su Kong Cai is currently detained at Gaozhou Detention Center and has been criminally detained.
On the afternoon of August 26th, reporters from Southern Rural Newspaper saw inside the office of the Nawu Police Station that Su Kong Cai's photo still hung in the station's bulletin board with his police number being 222930. According to insiders, Su Kong Cai fell from grace after villagers jointly reported his illegal and disciplinary violations.
For years, despite local authorities never ceasing their efforts to crack down on underground "六合cai" (referred to as "buying horses," a form of gambling), the phenomenon of "六合cai" betting in some rural areas of Nawu Town remained unchecked.
Li Guangqiang, over 70 years old, lives alone in his old home in Poxin Village, Nawu Town, while his children and grandchildren reside elsewhere. A few years ago, Li Guangqiang became addicted to "六合cai."
At 11 PM on September 16th, 2009, just as Li Guangqiang was about to sleep, he suddenly heard someone knocking on his door: "Uncle, open the door, we need to handle something with you." Upon opening the door, Li Guangqiang found more than 40 people outside, including some officers from the Nawu Police Station. After showing the search warrant issued by the Huazhou Public Security Bureau, they rushed into his house. After finding materials related to "六合cai," these people took Li Guangqiang along with 1000 yuan found in his wardrobe back to the Nawu Police Station.
On the morning of September 17th, Li Guangqiang was taken by two police officers to a neighboring town police station for photographing and then returned to the Nawu Police Station where he was required to pay a fine of 30,000 yuan. Li Guangqiang admitted to gambling but thought the 30,000 yuan fine was excessive. Subsequently, Li Guangqiang sought help through intermediaries. The police station agreed to reduce the fine amount from 30,000 yuan to 15,000 yuan. At 11 PM on September 17th, after paying the 15,000 yuan fine, the Nawu Police Station released Li Guangqiang but refused to issue him a receipt. "The staff of the police station told me this was a fine, and there was no receipt," Li Guangqiang told Southern Rural Newspaper on August 26th, 2011.
Similar to Li Guangqiang's experience, Xie Zhuorong from Dadi Tou Village Group in Zeng Village, Nawu Town, also faced similar circumstances. On the evening of May 1st, 2009, after the current "六合cai" results were announced, Xie Zhuorong was walking home when a car suddenly blocked his way. The people who got out of the car conducted a body search on him. After finding the "六合cai" numbers slip and 7000 yuan in cash, Xie Zhuorong was taken to the Nawu Police Station. After temporarily confiscating his mobile phone, belt, and other items, the police searched his residence and shop but found nothing. The next day, after paying a fine of 24,000 yuan, Xie Zhuorong was allowed to leave the Nawu Police Station without receiving any proof of payment.
A joint petition letter from local villagers revealed that Li Guangqiang, Xie Zhuorong, Huang Guangyong, and Mo Kangdao were all fined a total of 105,000 yuan in 2009 by the Nawu Police Station for buying "六合cai" but did not receive any receipts from the police station. According to informed sources, the number of villagers fined for buying "六合cai" without receiving receipts was not limited to the above four individuals.
Accused of Multiple Arbitrary Fees
When discussing Su Kong Cai's downfall, Lin Feng (a pseudonym) who had been in the scrap recycling business for 12 years in Nawu Town appeared particularly agitated. According to him, since Su Kong Cai became the chief of the Nawu Police Station, starting from 2008, the town's 16 scrap recycling stations had to pay an annual public security management fee of 1800 yuan to the police station.
According to Lin Feng’s recollection, on September 13th, 2007, the Nawu Police Station summoned the responsible persons of the 16 scrap recycling stations to a meeting at the station, which was presided over by one of the station's police officers. During the meeting, the Nawu Police Station required each scrap recycling station to pay an annual public security management fee of 3000 yuan. Many scrap recycling station owners, including Lin Feng, found this requirement hard to accept.
On March 20th, 2008, police officers and security personnel from the Nawu Police Station came to Lin Feng's scrap recycling station. After finding some old copper wires, they took Lin Feng back to the police station. Lin Feng stated that on that day, eight scrap recycling station managers were brought to the police station. On March 21st, after each person paid a fine of 3000 yuan to the Nawu Police Station, Lin Feng and others regained their freedom.
Subsequently, the Nawu Police Station reduced the management fee collection standard to 1800 yuan per year per scrap recycling station, collected in two installments: the first half in March and the second half in July. "The police station directly sends people to collect it," Lin Feng told Southern Rural Newspaper on August 26th, adding that although Su Kong Cai has been arrested, this year's "management fee" has already been paid.
Informed villagers told Southern Rural Newspaper that besides scrap recycling stations, some automobile repair shops also had to pay public security management fees, set at 2000 yuan per year.
It is understood that scrap recycling and automobile repairs belong to special industries, but the "special industry management fee" has long been abolished by the state. In the "Public Security Administrative Charge Items" published on the website of the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department, the reporter did not find the item "public security management fee."
A motorcycle taxi driver in Nawu Town told Southern Rural Newspaper that under Su Kong Cai's administration, the Nawu Police Station had more than just public security management fees as revenue-generating projects. From 2009 until Su Kong Cai's arrest, six casinos in the town openly operated from 8 AM to 10 PM every day. "The casino bosses claimed that they had smoothed relations with the police station, so everyone could gamble with peace of mind," said the driver. "Each casino had to pay the police station 2000-3000 yuan in 'protection fees' daily."
Villager Guo Qiang (a pseudonym) told Southern Rural Newspaper that the Nawu Police Station charged exorbitant fees for registering newborns. For those with complete and legal documentation, the Nawu Police Station charged each person 300 yuan (the general standard in Guangdong Province for household registration books is 10 yuan per book); for those lacking corresponding documentation, each person was charged 1000 yuan.
Police Station Refuses to Answer Journalist's Questions
Li Guangqiang told Southern Rural Newspaper that after hearing that relevant departments were investigating Su Kong Cai, he dared to join others in filing a real-name joint accusation against Su for alleged illegal and disciplinary violations in mid-July 2011. Li Guangqiang said that more than ten days after the report, three staff members from the local procuratorate visited him to understand the related situation. The next day, Su Kong Cai was taken away by relevant departments.
On the evening of August 28th, Southern Rural Newspaper called Zhang, the instructor of the Nawu Police Station. After the reporter identified himself, Zhang immediately hung up the phone. When the reporter dialed again, Instructor Zhang said, "If you're asking as a journalist, I won't answer any questions, maybe acquaintances can have a chat."
On August 26th, a relevant person in charge of the Gaozhou Detention Center confirmed to Southern Rural Newspaper that Su Kong Cai is currently detained there. Yesterday, an informed official told Southern Rural Newspaper that Su Kong Cai has been criminally detained. Relevant officials revealed that the new chief of the Nawu Police Station has yet to be appointed.
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