Chapter 790: Maternal and Child Health Hospital
"The person who reported the case was a doctor in the health department at the time."
Zhang Hui explained the situation of the time: "They discovered the birth certificate was missing when they went to process a new birth certificate after starting work."
"At first, they thought another colleague had taken it, but after asking around, nobody had it, then they realized the birth certificate was lost."
"Then the hospital reported it to the police."
"But when we arrived, the scene was chaotic, with doctors and parents going in and out of the crime scene, making it impossible to conduct a proper investigation."
"It was as if the whole scene was destroyed."
"Yang Sen and his team collected fingerprints, but found nothing, and there were no footprints to collect either."
"Also, a careful look at the office door lock showed no signs of it being tampered with."
"To prevent theft, the windows of the health department are reinforced with steel bars."
"The most absurd thing is that the corridor has a surveillance camera, and after the hospital closed, no one entered the health department’s office."
Zhang Hui has had a tough week.
The missing birth certificate needs to be found as soon as possible; the longer it takes, the greater the chances of an issue arising.
This case is of high concern to the city bureau.
"Captain Qin has been reprimanding me multiple times; I heard that Director Song Jiangguo has also reprimanded him several times."
Zhang Hui pointed outside: "They’re in a video meeting now, I expect I’ll be scolded again once they come out."
Bang!
Just as Zhang Hui finished speaking, the office door was kicked open by someone else.
Zhang Hui was about to lose his temper; who dared to kick the door of the action team’s office in the Criminal Investigation Team? Did they think they were the team leader?
But his anger deflated as soon as he saw who it was.
Because it was Qin Yong who came in.
Qin Yong was also taken aback upon entering, and just as he was about to scold someone, he held back and saw Lu Chuan there.
"Lu Chuan, you’re back?"
Lu Chuan stood up to greet him: "Hello, Captain Qin."
"I just got back yesterday, the case with the Major Crimes Unit just wrapped up, I brought Shen Yang to work this morning and ran into Brother Hui, who asked me to help look into a case."
A case?
It would have been fine not to mention the case, but bringing it up again raised Qin Yong’s simmering anger.
"Zhang Hui!"
"Director Song just criticized our Criminal Investigation Team by name at the entire bureau’s video meeting."
"It’s just a theft case, but after a week, there’s not a single clue. What are you doing?"
"The higher-ups are very concerned about this case, and it’s reached the city leaders, who now demand that we solve it within a week."
Qin Yong’s situation isn’t going well.
The Criminal Investigation Team used to always receive praise, but at some point, criticisms started appearing occasionally.
Qin Yong glanced at Lu Chuan standing nearby.
Since this kid left, nothing has gone smoothly.
No, he has to find a way to get him back.
But it’s definitely not possible right now, although helping out with a case should be no problem.
"Lu, if you’re not busy over there, please help Zhang Hui study the case and see if there are any leads."
"I’ll call Chen Weiguo at the High-tech Zone Branch and let him know."
"No need to be so polite, Captain Qin. The Criminal Investigation Team doesn’t have any cases recently."
"If the team needs anything, just call me anytime."
Though Lu Chuan is technically the captain of the Criminal Investigation Team in the High-tech Zone, he hasn’t yet relinquished his post as the director of the Crime Scene Investigation office in the Criminal Investigation Team.
Moreover, he often uses the equipment from the team for cases.
So, even if Qin Yong hadn’t asked, he couldn’t reject Zhang Hui’s request for help.
"This case is rather bizarre; I’m not sure if we can solve it on time."
"No worries, just do your best; I have to go see Director Song to admit our fault..."
Qin Yong gave Zhang Hui another stern look before leaving.
Watching Qin Yong leave, Zhang Hui said, "Take care, Captain Qin!"
Bam!
The sound of the door closing was loud.
"See, isn’t this situation really tough for me?"
Zhang Hui spread his hands in exasperation.
Lu Chuan shook his head and continued examining the photos.
"Have they sealed off the scene yet?"
"No, after the initial Crime Scene Investigation, they continued using the area without sealing it off."
A theft case isn’t a homicide; they can’t seal the scene indefinitely.
Lu Chuan frowned.
If the scene wasn’t sealed, a second investigation wouldn’t be very meaningful.
Although there are clues in the investigation photos, visiting the scene gives a stronger sense of space.
"Let’s do this, Brother Hui, we should still visit the scene and bring along Old Yang, so I can learn about the initial investigation from him."
"Alright, I’ll call the hospital."
Half an hour later, they arrived at the Maternal and Child Health Hospital.
The corridor was bustling with people coming and going.
Lu Chuan began to understand why the scene wasn’t sealed off.
The office where the incident occurred is the only one at the hospital that handles birth certificates.
Every day, scores of people are crowded in layers outside this office.
The head of the hospital’s health department smiled wryly: "Our department has a total of 8 people; I’m the most free one as the director."
"Hey! Parents, line up! No cutting!"
Lu Chuan observed, this director was indeed the most idle, maintaining order outside while others handled the process inside.
The Maternal and Child Health Hospital in Haizhou City is well-known, it’s the best maternity hospital in the city.
According to the director, 150 to 200 children are born at the hospital each day.
"Director Chen, do they have to process the birth certificate the day the baby is born?"
"Not necessarily, generally you can process it within three months after the child is born. If it’s over three months, then it can’t be done here."
Calling over a young nurse, Director Chen led Lu Chuan and others to her office.
Lu Chuan clearly noticed a sigh of relief when they entered the office.
"We’ve had missing birth certificates before, but that was more than a decade ago when I was still an intern."
Director Chen, who was quite talkative, poured water for Lu Chuan and Zhang Hui: "This building is an old one with this layout, every department has a fixed number of rooms."
"After the birth certificates went missing more than a decade ago, the hospital installed steel bars on all the windows in our Maternal and Child Health Department office."
"A few years ago, they also installed surveillance cameras."
"Is it possible that a doctor secretly took the certificates after work?"
Lu Chuan had just observed the corridor and watched the surveillance video.
No one appeared on the video the night the incident happened.
In other words, unless it’s an inside job by a doctor stealing the birth certificates after hours...
Then these birth certificates would have vanished into thin air.
"Impossible!"
But faced with Lu Chuan’s question, Director Chen immediately retorted.
"Our department has strict regulations on managing birth certificates."