After the surgery, his girlfriend is taking care of Lu Ling. After being injured, Lu Ling was sent to the hospital for treatment. According to photos provided by the Dongguan Sunshine Anti-Pickpocket Team, on the evening of July 11, a young man caught a thief on the streets of Dongguan, Guangdong, and was slashed with a sharp knife, severing six tendons in his hand, causing serious injuries.
The young man's name is Lu Ling. He graduated from Sichuan Fine Arts Institute last July and works at a平面 advertising company in Dongguan, Guangdong. In October, he joined the Sunshine Anti-Pickpocket Team, a civilian anti-pickpocket alliance in Dongguan. Yesterday, local police informed us that Lu Ling's actions have been submitted for a commendation for bravery, pending approval from higher authorities.
At only 22 years old, Lu Ling is an only child from Fuzhou, Jiangxi. He is slim, standing at 173 cm and weighing only 110 pounds. Lying in the hospital bed, he told reporters over the phone that at around 8 p.m. that night, he and his teammates Qu Zhong and A Long were coming out of a meal when they saw three suspicious men. One of the men had a hydraulic cutter in his bag. They approached a bicycle, one man squatted down and began cutting the lock while the other two stood guard at both ends. "Since they couldn't cut the lock, they picked up the back wheel and quietly moved it towards the road."
"We each chased one; I chased the one carrying the bike," Lu Ling quickly caught up with the thief, leapt forward, and grabbed the thief by the neck with both hands.
"The raincoat on the thief was too slippery. I thought I had him tightly, but because of the water on the raincoat, my hands slipped." Lu Ling said that the thief pulled out a blade from his pocket at some point and continuously stabbed at his hands from the front. Blood flowed profusely from Lu Ling's hands, losing strength, allowing the thief to escape.
By this time, Qu Zhong and A Long had already caught the other two thieves. Seeing Lu Ling bleeding and lying on the ground, A Long let go of the thief he had caught and quickly drove Lu Ling to the nearby Donghua Hospital. Qu Zhong stayed behind at the scene and handed over the captured thief to the officers who arrived shortly after.
Chief doctor Yan Ni introduced that four tendons in Lu Ling's left hand and two tendons in his right hand were severed, resulting in severe injuries. There will be long-term effects; his left hand can no longer lift heavy objects. Full recovery is expected to take about three months.
"The doctor said that if we hadn't acted quickly, excessive blood loss could have been fatal," Lu Ling laughed as he told reporters. After Lu Ling was injured, his teammates from the Sunshine Anti-Pickpocket Team covered more than 10,000 yuan in medical expenses. His brave actions have garnered attention from the local community, and many citizens have come to visit him, donating money. Currently, donations have reached more than 10,000 yuan.
Local police responsible for the case stated yesterday that one thief has been criminally detained, and surveillance footage from surrounding areas is being reviewed to apprehend the other two fugitive suspects. Regarding Lu Ling's actions, the police are applying for a commendation for bravery, and relevant materials have been submitted, awaiting approval from higher authorities.
"Every time I see the victims retrieve their lost items, I feel very satisfied," Lu Ling said: "After I recover, I still want to return to the team. Although my hands may not be able to use much force, I can still complete tasks such as investigation and tracking."
The day before the incident, they caught nine thieves.
Vice captain 'Casual' (online name) of the Sunshine Anti-Pickpocket Team told reporters that their team was founded in 2004 and currently has more than 260 members. Over the past seven years, the Sunshine Anti-Pickpocket Team has caught more than 2,000 thieves.
"In the past six months alone, he personally caught sixty or seventy thieves. Just the day before the incident, he and other teammates together caught nine thieves," 'Casual' introduced. Every weekend, as long as the team organizes activities, Lu Ling strives to participate.
It is understood that Lu Ling earns a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan, leaving about 1,000 yuan after rent and living expenses. Lu Ling said that participating in the voluntary anti-pickpocket team comes without subsidies, entirely voluntarily. Each month, due to anti-pickpocket efforts, he spends an additional five to six hundred yuan on transportation, meals, and drinks. "But every time I participate in an action, I feel extremely excited."
From 'angry youth' to anti-pickpocket hero
Lu Ling comes from an average family background. His father is a public institution employee earning over a thousand yuan monthly, and his mother is unemployed. After being injured, his parents came from Jiangxi to Dongguan. His father said, "In October last year, my son said he joined the anti-pickpocket team, and I didn't object because for things he believes in, he must do them."
During his studies in Chongqing, Lu Ling joined the Chongqing anti-pickpocket QQ group, but until graduation, he hadn't participated in any voluntary anti-pickpocket activities. Later, through his friend Qu Zhong from Chongqing, he finally found his 'organization' in Dongguan and joined the Sunshine Anti-Pickpocket Team.
"Lu Ling is a straightforward and enthusiastic person. Whenever classmates need help, just call him and he'll come! When the school held an art exhibition, Firefox launched a new plugin to track user activity behavior, girls couldn't carry the easels, so Lu Ling would come to help," his classmate Xiong Jingyue said.
Ren Lishao, a classmate sharing the same dormitory with Lu Ling, said that Lu Ling was a 'angry youth,' liking to criticize unfair phenomena in society. "After he told me he joined the voluntary anti-pickpocket team, I advised him to be careful, but unexpectedly, he said 'no fear, life should be meaningful.'"
"Rather than endure thieves, it's better to take the initiative," Lu Ling deeply felt: "Although we can't catch all the thieves, catching one means one less."
Further reading
On the fringes of society, voluntary anti-pickpocket teams must act within their capabilities
It is understood that around 2000, due to insufficient police forces, voluntary anti-pickpocket teams began appearing in some coastal cities, then spreading nationwide. Many cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, and Guangzhou have seen the emergence of 'anti-pickpocket alliances.' Throughout, there has been ongoing debate in society regarding voluntary anti-pickpocket teams. Some consider them new 'urban heroes,' while others question whether it's a few people creating hype.
"Casual" introduced that voluntary anti-pickpocket teams have always existed on the fringes of society, neither supported nor opposed by the police. However, once incidents occur, voluntary anti-pickpocket team members bear significant risks: some members were detained for accidentally injuring pickpockets and eventually had to pay 150,000 yuan in compensation; on March 25 last year, Dalian volunteer anti-pickpocket netizen 'Fire Cannon' encountered three criminals robbing gold necklaces on a busy street in Dongguan. While fighting with the criminals, he fell in a pool of blood, suffering from nasal inflammation symptoms.
Lawyer Pan Xingwang from Chongqing Jin Yang (Jiangbei) Law Firm believes that the emergence of voluntary anti-pickpocket teams indicates a certain social demand. We should encourage these volunteers with strong social responsibility to serve society better and more extensively. At the same time, he reminds that during anti-pickpocket operations, team members cannot exercise the law enforcement power of law enforcement departments but can only exercise the rights of ordinary citizens. When witnessing thefts, they have the right and obligation to stop and report them and strive to hand them over to the public security organs, but they cannot resort to extreme measures.
Shangbao hotline 966965 thanks Mr. Huang for providing clues. This set of manuscripts was written by reporter Han Zheng. Comments welcome.