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Police response to abduction shows no rule of law
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A 19-year-old woman was kidnapped in a department store in Guangzhou, and video footage showed that she was taken away by a woman and three men. What happened next reflects an enormous problem regarding police responsibility in Guangdong Province — and perhaps elsewhere.
Local police told the victim’s family to follow the kidnappers’ order to pay a ransom, claiming there was nothing they could do about the case.
“You should not rely on police to take action immediately. It is impossible!” a police officer told the family.
Guangdong Television recorded other absurd statements by the same officer.
The civil servant, who worked for the Jiahe police station in Guangzhou, the provincial capital, reportedly said, “There is no other way. If you want to ensure her safety, we police suggest you pay money.”
Her family in neighboring Zhanjiang had received a phone call from the kidnappers, who threatened to hurt the victim if the family didn’t pay. When they called police, officers in Zhanjiang didn’t respond. They had no choice but to go to Guangzhou to seek police help there.
China’s criminal procedure law states very clearly that police must file a case for investigation whenever a crime occurs, no matter where they are. However, Zhanjiang police didn’t do so, according to the news report.
Dereliction of duty
The officer in Jiahe clearly should be suspected of dereliction of duty.
According to the TV report, the victim’s family went to the police station twice, but officers there were unwilling to help. They made the family wait and said they had no idea what district’s crime squad would do. They claimed they had handed in paperwork but there was no response from the crime squad.
The same officer added that the victim was likely involved in a Ponzi scheme and that based on their experience the victim might be safe. He suggested the family find the woman themselves, though he acknowledged it might take some time.
So easy! I have no idea where the so-called “experience” came from. But I’ve learned an innocent man in Inner Mongolia was executed because local police took him as a rapist-murderer based on their “experience.”
Was that Guangzhou and Zhanjiang police’s normal way to carry out their duties? Or was that just the working style of a few bad apples?
That this whole sordid affair came just as our leaders were deciding to advance rule of law in our country in an all-round manner only adds to the dismay. What happened in Guangzhou and Zhanjiang revealed how urgent it is to improve our grass-roots law enforcement.
After the news report, Guangzhou police said they had launched an investigation and would try their best to find the victim. It’s too bad that it took a news report to make them behave so differently.
But at least Guangzhou police took action, finally. Meanwhile, we many understand that, in certain cases, the rule of law in China has a long way to go.
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