The bank robbery that caused a sensation in Shanghai 20 years ago has been solved! People caught may not be subject to legal sanctions? Police | Shen | Shanghai
20 years ago, a sensational robbery occurred in Yangpu District of Shanghai.
Back then, the police conducted a large number of joint investigations throughout the city, which are still vividly remembered by many people today.
20 years ago, a man ran away with a knife after robbing a bank
On the noon of August 1, 2002, a man with a knife broke into a worker and farmer postal savings office located on Yinxing Road in Yangpu District, Shanghai. He first observed it and soon after, he entered the inside of the counter.
Originally, at that time, there was a savings window that could hold packages. The man quickly crawled in from here and then took out a sharp knife that was more than ten centimeters long, shaking it at the nearby salesperson. The frightened salesperson reacted and fled in all directions. Subsequently, the man walked straight to the money box.
The man robbed a total of 100000 yuan from the money box and immediately fled, the entire process only took one minute. After the case occurred, the police quickly established a special task force to conduct an investigation. Based on public videos and eyewitness descriptions, the task force has determined the basic characteristics of the suspect.
After preliminary analysis, the suspect's age should be between 25 and 35 years old. The most obvious feature is being tall, and the police estimated that the suspect's height should be between 1.83 and 1.88 meters. The police also discovered that half an hour before the incident, the suspect had walked into the savings account for the first time and looked around for a week. Not only that, he also appeared here the day before the incident.
At the window where the suspect entered the counter, the police retrieved his fingerprint, but it did not contain any suspicious clues. Subsequently, the scope of investigation also spread around the scene of the crime. In order to find clues and locate suspects as soon as possible, the police also issued a wanted investigation assistance.
However, after extensive investigation, these clues were all eliminated one by one.
Ling Wei, the director of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Shanghai Yangpu Public Security Bureau, who participated in the investigation, once said that when the report was investigated, it looked very similar, and everyone had an excited point. Later on, they were not very disappointed.
As time goes by, the suspect of this case has never surfaced, which has become a knot in the hearts of the police of the special case team.
Suspect is caught
But the 20 year prosecution period has passed
Until many years later, China's criminal investigation technology has made tremendous progress, and this case has finally ushered in a turning point.
At the end of July 2022, the Shanghai police re verified the biological traces of the 801 robbery using the latest fingerprint comparison algorithm and technology, and obtained exciting results. The man Shen entered the police's field of vision.
The suspect, Shen Mou, was 26 years old at the time of the crime. He not only had a high similarity in appearance, but also his height and stature were very consistent with those of the criminals.
The 801 robbery task force is about to restart, and new and old criminal police officers from the Criminal Investigation Headquarters and Yangpu Criminal Investigation Team have gathered together to conduct an investigation into Shen. According to relevant information, in 1998, Shen graduated from a college. As his mother was a rural educated youth, according to relevant policies, Shen's household registration was moved from another city to his aunt's house in Shanghai. However, he actually did not live here for a day, which belongs to the separation of people and households, meaning that the household registration address does not match the actual place of residence.
Shen worked in the sales of medical devices in Shanghai. During the period before and after the incident, he resigned from the company and started as a sole proprietorship. There is no record of what he specifically did during this period.
There are more and more doubts about Shen, and on August 14, 2022, the police decided to arrest him.
During the arrest process, the police learned from their conversation with Shen's wife that during the period after the incident, Shen was doing business in Chongqing. No wonder for a long time after the incident, the police could hardly find any trace of his activities in Shanghai.
According to the prosecutor in this case, Shen felt that he couldn't stay in Shanghai after seeing a large number of joint investigation notices. Therefore, on August 5, 2002, he went from Shanghai to Chongqing to do business with his classmates and frequently traveled between Shanghai and other places. During the continuous journey, his time in Shanghai was very limited, so the opportunity for the police to investigate was also very limited.
Shen has been living in Chongqing for a long time, and his wife and children are also very close. Shen's wife said she never expected that her husband would be a wanted criminal. How to be a person in the future, and how children will be a person in the future.
Where did the 100000 yuan stolen money go? Shen said that 40000 yuan of it will be used for the decoration of the new house because his wife is pregnant and needs more environmentally friendly materials; Another 40000 yuan was lent to someone else; The remaining 20000 yuan was spent on daily expenses.
Recalling the arrest process, Duan Yongxin, the deputy captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, once said that he saw the word "fear" in Shen's eyes. When his hand touched Shen, he was actually trembling uncontrollably.
On the way back to the police station, Officer Duan was still warning Shen to confess his crime 20 years ago as soon as possible: "What did I come to see you for? You should be determined from the bottom of your heart. There's nothing I don't know about this. You won't do it again in your lifetime, I'll tell you clearly."
In the interrogation room, Shen drank water 12 times in just a few minutes, and finally gave up the last bit of resistance.
In 2002, it was indeed a special year for Shen. He and his wife got married that year, and their child was about to be born. They also took out a loan to buy a new house of over 70 square meters in Minhang District, Shanghai and renovated it. Although this series of life events had some support from their parents and elders, they still had a significant financial burden for young Shen. However, at such an important juncture in life, his choices ultimately led him onto a path of no return.
However, at this moment, the investigators discovered an issue. From the incident on August 1, 2002, to Shen's arrest on August 14, 2022, this case happened to exceed the maximum 20 year prosecution period stipulated by Chinese law.
20 years of prosecution has passed
Will Shen still face legal sanctions?
The statute of limitations for prosecution is the effective period for criminal prosecution of offenders as stipulated in the Criminal Law, during which judicial organs have the right to prosecute; Beyond this deadline, in general, judicial authorities cannot pursue further charges.
According to the different statutory maximum penalties, China divides the statute of limitations for prosecution into four types: 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, and 20 years. For cases with a prosecution period exceeding 20 years, if it is deemed necessary to prosecute after 20 years, approval must be submitted to the Supreme People's Procuratorate.
So, is it necessary to prosecute Shen in this case?
Regarding this, Gu Yan, Assistant Prosecutor of the Second Procuratorate Department of the Second Branch of the Shanghai People's Procuratorate, stated that if a criminal act has serious social consequences, although it has been 20 years, if not prosecuted, it may cause other serious consequences or very adverse social effects, so it is necessary to prosecute it.
Finally, the Supreme People's Procuratorate approved the prosecution of this case, and the Second Branch of the Shanghai People's Procuratorate prosecuted Shen for robbery in accordance with the law. In June 2023, the Second Intermediate People's Court of Shanghai made a first instance judgment on this case:
1、 The defendant Shen committed the crime of robbery and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison, deprived of political rights for four years, and fined RMB 30000.
2、 The illegal gains shall be recovered and returned to the injured unit.
The Heavenly Web is full of subtlety, and Shen told the camera after being detained that humans are both angels and demons on one side, and doing wrong will definitely come at a cost.
