At around 16:00 on December 15, 2011, Mr. Zhang Yuxiang, a 72-year-old man from Dongwubu Village in Wumaying Town, Nanpi County of Cangzhou, was herding 41 sheep at the east side of his village. Unexpectedly, a group of bandits suddenly appeared before him, covered his face, tied up his limbs, and threw him into a ditch. They then proceeded to punch and kick him with sticks for two hours under broad daylight, stealing 37 of his sheep.
Mr. Jiang, a villager from Haixing County, informed the reporter that in his village of Caizhuangzi, to prevent thefts, the village committee funded the installation of streetlights and surveillance facilities on all important streets within the village. Every night, villagers take turns patrolling the area, resulting in good social order within the village.
In response to the increasing "black hands" committing crimes against farmers and extending their reach towards rural areas, the reporter conducted an in-depth investigation.
Rural patrol construction urgently needs to be strengthened. Weibo recommendation | Today's Weibo hot topics. Mr. Xing from Maluopo Village in Yaoguantun Township of Cangzhou County said that the rampant thefts in rural areas are closely related to the large number of young and able-bodied laborers leaving for work elsewhere. According to Mr. Xing, after the Spring Festival, many able-bodied people in his village would leave to work elsewhere, some even working abroad for several years. Those left behind are mostly elderly people and women with children. Criminals take advantage of this situation, often stealing from villages without fear.
In January 2010, in a small forest locally known as "dog den" in Taiyang Village of Shijiazhuang City’s Mining District, a 63-year-old Wang Lao Han was herding sheep when three young men pushed him down, tied him up, beat him severely, and threw him into a hidden spot under a cliff. Subsequently, the three young men took away 53 sheep. At 6 PM that evening, Wang Lao Han had lost consciousness but was luckily rescued by his brother who came looking for him.
Many netizens strongly condemned the act of sheep theft. During the interview, the reporter observed that most households in rural areas that lost livestock generally kept their animal pens separate from their housing, with no one watching over them at night. Furthermore, the anti-theft equipment is very rudimentary, basically just a door lock. Such locks can easily be cut open by hydraulic pliers used by criminals. In addition, due to the poor living conditions of farmers, they often reside in old mud houses or simple brick houses. Sometimes, it takes criminals less than half an hour to dig a hole high enough to easily lead the livestock away. Moreover, the lagging rural patrol construction is also a major cause of frequent robbery cases in rural areas. Nowadays, with convenient transportation in rural areas bringing convenience to villagers' travel, it also provides an escape route for thieves after committing crimes. Currently, rural areas generally lack surveillance equipment, and many villages don't even have streetlights, making it difficult for the police to solve cases.
Hebei News Network (Yanzhao Metropolis Daily reporters Han Zexiang and Dai Qing) On February 13, our newspaper reported that a 53-year-old farmer Mr. Wang Gui Zhong from Meiguan Tun Village in Xueguantun Township of Cang County suffered misfortune when his family's livelihood of 40 sheep were stolen overnight, followed by the sudden death of his long-ailing son. After the report was published, many readers called our newspaper to reflect on the widespread existence of livestock theft cases in various rural areas. Our newspaper has also reported multiple times on livestock theft cases occurring in rural areas. In many forums and bulletin boards, netizens posted condemning the evil deeds of criminals, calling for increased law enforcement efforts by the public security organs to sever the black hands that harm farmers.
For cases of livestock theft in rural areas, our newspaper has previously reported multiple times.
Yesterday, after seeing the report, Mr. Wang from Dazidian Village in Fenghuadian Township of Cang County contacted our newspaper to reflect that Fuye Grandpa's home in his village was visited twice by thieves before the Spring Festival. The first time, when Fuye Grandpa and his wife returned home, they found a minivan parked at the gate. Their front door was open, but the inner room's door was locked. There were sounds of moving items inside the house. Immediately sensing something was wrong, Fuye Grandpa and his wife split up; one stayed at the gate while the other squatted by a short wall to keep watch. Upon discovering this, the two thieves not only didn’t flee but instead beat the couple badly. Enraged, Fuye Grandpa smashed the car window of the thief with a brick, but the thief drove off quickly. A few days later, Fuye Grandpa once again caught the intruders stealing inside his house and found that his television and other household appliances were already bundled up with bed sheets and quilt covers, ready to be transported away. “Nowadays, there are too many cases of cattle theft, sheep theft, and appliance theft in rural areas. Some are almost outright robberies, causing panic among the common folk.”
The reporter also discovered during interviews that very few farmers report thefts. Many villagers expressed that initially, everyone would voluntarily report incidents, but after the police merely asked questions on-site, recorded statements, and did nothing further, the detection rate for similar cases was low, greatly reducing villagers' enthusiasm to report crimes. Many people could only accept their misfortune, consoling themselves with the thought of "losing money to avoid disaster."
On the Cangzhou Bar, the reporter inputted keywords like "rural sheep theft" and saw many relevant posts. Many netizens strongly condemned the act of "sheep theft, utterly unacceptable," and called for the establishment of a "police-civilian joint defense" mechanism to firmly sever the black hands harming farmers.
On the Yanzhao Metropolis Network, a netizen left a message after seeing the news report about sheep theft: “Frequent rural sheep theft cases make one feel sorrowful upon reading. Why? First, such acts harm the weakest groups even within rural communities. My home is in the countryside, and I know that anyone with earning potential would not stay in the village to raise sheep. Most sheep farmers either lack labor force at home or are physically ill and cannot do heavy work. It is truly unacceptable that criminals extend their black hands towards such individuals! Second, these sheep theft cases happening openly and consecutively have caused surrounding residents to lose a sense of security continuously. Therefore, as an ordinary netizen, I hope that the public security organs treat these 'small cases' with the same seriousness as 'big cases.' Do not forget that these 'small cases' are directly related to the lives of grassroots officials and even concern the property and lives of entire families. If the public security organs cannot stop the black hands reaching out to sheep farmers, such cases will continue to occur.”