A cancer in the Quanzhou engineering transportation industry has finally been eradicated. Among the 14 people arrested, 13 were involved in organized crime. They used various means to extort and vandalize coal transport vehicles and mud trucks passing through their "territory," demanding "protection fees." They also extended their criminal activities to a construction site in Puxi, violently threatening the contractor.
The leader of this criminal organization is named Chen Mouwang, who made his fortune through investment in transportation projects. In the early stages of his business, in order to facilitate the operation of his overloaded vehicles, he bribed staff members from the Quanzhou Road Administration Department. Recently, due to suspicion of organizing and leading a mafia-like criminal organization, intentional injury, extortion, intentional destruction of property, provoking trouble, and bribery, Chen Mouwang was prosecuted on six charges.
The Fengze District Court will hold a trial on an appointed day.
[Unlawful Activities]
Chen Mouwang started his career through investment in transportation projects and formed three fleets. In order to avoid punishment for violations committed by his own transportation vehicles, he repeatedly bribed relevant personnel from the Quanzhou Road Administration Department and the Traffic Police Department.
Transportation Business - Rent-Seeking for the First Bucket of Gold
Chen Mouwang is 30 years old and lives in Quanzhou City.
In September 2008, Chen Mouwang began purchasing cars, placing them at the "Nanfeng Automobile Rental Shop" in Quanzhou for external rent, earning rental income, thereby digging his first bucket of gold. Subsequently, his fleet continued to grow, and by the end of last year, he had 12 cars, with a monthly profit as high as 50,000 yuan.
From 2009 to last year, Chen Mouwang successively established three fleets: "Zhongyuan Auto Trade," "Quanxin Logistics," and "Gangyun," none of which underwent any formal approval procedures. Within a short year, his transportation business developed rapidly. According to statistics, from April to December last year alone, more than 20 coal transport vehicles operated in Houzhu Port Area, paying Chen Mouwang's transportation company a monthly registration fee ranging from 1500 to 2000 yuan each. Chen Mouwang earned over 100,000 yuan in just a few months.
Seeking "Favor" - Multiple Briberies to Road Administration and Traffic Police
Within a short period, a large number of coal transport vehicle owners "voluntarily" registered under Chen Mouwang and paid monthly registration fees. The "benefits" provided by Chen Mouwang were simple - after violating regulations such as overloading, vehicles could escape punishment smoothly.
To ensure that his coal transport vehicles received "favor," Chen Mouwang repeatedly bribed relevant personnel from the Quanzhou Highway Bureau's Road Administration Department and the Traffic Police Department. In June 2009, at the entrance of the Quanzhou Road Administration Inspection Team on Baozhou Street, Chen Mouwang handed over an envelope containing 8000 yuan in cash to Wang Mouping (who has already been sentenced), entrusting him to bribe other individuals. During the Mid-Autumn Festival of the same year, still at the inspection team entrance, Chen Mouwang handed over 31 shopping cards worth 500 yuan each to Wang Mouping, entrusting him to bribe other individuals.
On the eve of the Spring Festival in 2009, at Jiang Moulin's residence on Tian'an Road in Quanzhou, Chen Mouwang handed over nine shopping cards worth 500 yuan each to Jiang Moulin, entrusting him to bribe other individuals.
On the eve of the Spring Festival last year, near a tea shop outside the Shan Yao Station of the Quangang Traffic Police Brigade, Chen Mouwang purchased 9800 yuan worth of tea, entrusting Liu Moxiang (who has already been sentenced) to bribe other station staff.
[Misdeeds]
Playing the thug is one of Chen Mouwang's important methods to expand his influence. Despite his company's annual profit nearing 600,000 yuan, his greed was insatiable. In early 2010, he set his sights on a construction site in Puxi, Quanzhou.
Playing the Thug - Harassing a Construction Site in Puxi
In 2010, Chen Mouwang gathered over a dozen people including Zhuang Mouwei, Lin Mouhong, and Zheng Mouzui, beginning to use thug-like tactics such as vandalism and staged accidents to threaten the contractor of a construction site in Puxi, demanding "protection fees."
Cai Mouzheng and Wang Mouhuang are among the contractors. Because their engineering transport fleet was not registered under Chen Mouwang, they were subjected to multiple threats. One early morning in August last year, Yang Mouping (part of Cai Mouzheng and Wang Mouhuang's fleet) driving a mud truck was stopped by a group of armed men (underlings instructed by Chen Mouwang and Zhuang Mouwei). Without hearing his explanation, these men proceeded to vandalize the vehicle, causing extensive damage to the mud truck. Similar incidents occurred multiple times on Baozhou Street, Jiangbin Road, and the Puxi intersection in Quanzhou.
At around 8 PM on November 23 last year, Chen Mouwang gathered several "brothers," blocking the 8th and 9th entrances of the construction site with their vehicles, preventing construction vehicles from entering or leaving for nearly two hours. Subsequently, the police intervened promptly, and Chen Mouwang and others left the scene. At around 9 PM that evening, contractor Huang Mou discussed issues regarding the site being blocked and vehicles being vandalized with Chen Mouwang and others. Unexpectedly, Chen Mouwang demanded a 20% dry share of their project. Huang Mou immediately refused. The next day, fearing that his engineering fleet would be attacked, Huang Mou spent tens of thousands of yuan hiring people to "escort" the fleet, which was later disbanded by the police.
Staged Accidents - Controlling Coal Transport Vehicles on Multiple Routes
Coal transport vehicles in Houzhu Port Area and along the route from Quangang to the city center and Jinjiang were also targets Chen Mouwang had in mind. Chen Mouwang had negotiated multiple times with coal transporters in the aforementioned areas, requesting them to register their trucks under his freight company, but they were refused.
To pressure the drivers and owners of these transport vehicles, Chen Mouwang repeatedly organized his subordinates to vandalize coal transport vehicles along the route or use staged accidents to extort money from drivers and owners. Many drivers along the route could no longer bear the harassment and were forced to abandon their transportation work.
[Destruction]
Black Society Organization Taken Down, Exposing Several Corrupt Officials
Chen Mouwang's actions severely disrupted the order of the Quanzhou engineering transportation industry, drawing significant attention from the Fengze police force.
On December 24 last year, Chen Mouwang was arrested in Quanzhou, and his black society gang was dismantled. Among the 14 people in the group, 13 were involved in organized crime. The prosecution charged Chen Mouwang with six crimes: organizing and leading a mafia-like criminal organization, intentional injury, extortion, intentional destruction of property, provoking trouble, and bribery; key members of the organization, such as Zhuang Mouwei and Lin Mouhong, were also charged with multiple crimes.
With the downfall of this black society organization, corruption cases involving multiple staff members from the road administration and traffic police departments have surfaced. Currently, three of them have been sentenced.