The school was invested in by Mou Chunlai, his wife also being one of the shareholders. Normally not involved in the school's management, she too narrowly escaped trouble.
What she hadn't expected was that her own husband would be arrested for forced labor.
The key person wasn't even in Lüzhou; the local connections were of no use.
Having no other choice, Ma Jingying had to come to Guanning District, find a lawyer first, and try to bail her husband and the others out no matter what.
This was also why Old Tang chose to report the case in Jiangguang.
Although some people deny that local protectionism exists, the truth is as conspicuous as lice on a bald head.
He certainly could have gone through the motions in Lüzhou, step by step, turning to administrative litigation if there was a problem, but by doing so, the reward would probably not be worth the candle.
The process required too many steps, any one of which could cause complications if delayed.
Take just the filing of a case, for instance. The law indeed stipulates that a case can be registered at the suspect's place of residence, but if they refuse to file the case on jurisdictional grounds, wouldn't you still have to resort to administrative reconsideration or litigation?
By the time that procedure was completed, and you could file the case again, who knows how much time would have passed just on filing alone...
This vocational school dared to do such things because there were definitely people backing it, so it was simply a matter of arresting them on different ground first.
As it turned out, the environment chosen personally by Old Tang this time was really good. Both leaders were very satisfied with their accommodations.
"If you make any noise in the middle of the night and disturb my sleep, I'll beat you up. Understand?" the fierce, tattooed man yelled at Lao Huo, who was not accustomed to such harsh conditions.
The issue started because he wasn't used to sleeping on a large bunk, and the constant tossing and turning at night was causing noise that annoyed the big guy next to him.
For an old hand who had been in and out of prison, a stay at the detention center was nothing significant.
Huo Ming nodded meekly. How could this hellish place be fit for humans?
He couldn't sleep all night and was very sleepy during the next day's interrogation. The air conditioning was very low, which was normal as Jiangguang's temperature was much higher than Lüzhou's.
After just two days he was breaking down, to the extent that when he saw the lawyer who came to meet him, he started crying right there.
"Please, find a way to get me out of here. I really can't stay any longer..."
A grown man, crying like a baby in its first month.
Luckily, the lawyers in Jiangguang were experienced and began to comfort him immediately.
It took quite a while to stabilize Huo Ming's emotions.
They then proceeded to ask about the specifics, and what Huo Ming said nearly made the two lawyers lose their composure.
"Are you saying that you made those students work on the assembly line for twelve hours? And that, despite knowing students kept running away, you threatened to withhold their diplomas if they didn't complete their internships?"
Huo Ming silently nodded.
Then he added, "But we didn't take much from them. The teachers from the school cared for their living needs at the factory, which means we needed to pay them more..."
He trailed off, unable to continue.
Perhaps the change in environment had made his thinking a bit clearer. Googlᴇ search novèlfire.net
The two lawyers exchanged glances; the situation was really unfavorable. These people not only talked directly but also had to tag everyone in the group chat.
One could argue against a recording claiming it was made without consent, but with chat logs like these, even a lawyer with eight mouths would have trouble clarifying things.
In theory, anyone capable of becoming a vice principal or principal was shrewd. Didn't they think before they spoke?
Huo Ming was fully aware of the students' situation, but twelve hours couldn't kill anyone; young people recruited from society worked just as long.
The lawyers were at a loss. One side was working voluntarily for overtime pay; the other was coerced by the need for a diploma, which sounded problematic.
"Huo Ming, don't panic. We're applying for bail pending trial to try and get you out first, and then we'll..."
Hearing this, Huo Ming couldn't help but interrupt, "When can I get out? I'm really curious because now they say I'm guilty of forced labor."
"But this is how we've always done it, and other schools do the same. Why was it okay before but it's not okay this year?"
At this, the older lawyer urgently said, "Wait, wait, wait. Did you say this to the police during the questioning?"
"The part about how it's always been done !" the lawyer was almost frantic.
"I... I did, yeah. I just wanted to ask them what's going on." Huo Ming hesitated and then admitted.
The lawyer sighed; that too could amount to a confession...
Anyone could guess that the public security organs must now be investigating past events, identifying the teachers stationed at the factory, and the salary distribution at the electronics factory. If it had gone through banks, all this information could be traced.
After sending the individuals away, Old Tang no longer paid attention to the case, waiting for the procedures to be completed before he could take further action.
Such as the handling of the school and the matters above it.
In the past few days, he had been collecting online reports and responses about Wufang Technical School, which included complaints from students about having to work very hard for twelve hours a day.
The responses related to Lüzhou were either that this was within the school's regulations, or that they had ordered Wufang Technical School to rectify the situation.
There were also suggestions to take legal action...
It sounds fine at first glance, but with some thought one realizes that the issues are significant.