On November 23, a short video showing “police officers from Zhangyi Town Police Station, Yuanzhou District, Guyuan City, Ningxia, beating students” showed two police officers encountering a student in a school uniform. One of the officers in uniform slapped the student’s face, kicked him, and pulled his head.
After the video sparked heated discussion, the Yuanzhou Branch of the Guyuan City Public Security Bureau reported on November 24 that at around 3 p.m. on November 22, the Zhangyi Police Station received a phone call from a resident reporting that their child had been beaten by a student at school. Wang, the then deputy director, immediately led the on-duty personnel to the scene.
Upon arrival, two third-grade students from the school reported that they had been repeatedly beaten by Ma, a sixth-grade student from the same school. The police registered and verified the information of the people at the scene, and comforted the injured and their families.
During this time, Ma left the scene on his own. Wang led auxiliary police officer Dai to find Ma, and at the same time kicked and beat him, and then took him back to the homeroom teacher’s office to wait for his parents. The incident in the online video occurred when Wang and Dai found Ma.
The report stated that after the incident, the Yuanzhou District Public Security Bureau immediately cooperated with Ma’s parents to take him to the hospital for examination and treatment. According to the hospital’s CT, ultrasound, and on-site examination by doctors, Ma had minor soft tissue contusions on his face and lower back.
On November 23, the Party Committee of the Guyuan City Public Security Bureau suspended Wang from his duties to cooperate with the investigation and apologized to the family of the victim.
Regarding the problems in the law enforcement of the police, on November 24, after research and decision by the Party Committee of the Guyuan City Public Security Bureau, Wang was given the punishment of removal from his administrative position.
As for whether there was long-term campus bullying, on November 24, a staff member of the Yuanzhou District Education Bureau of Guyuan City said that the situation of the sixth-grade student beating the lower-grade students in the report was an occasional occurrence and there was no long-term campus bullying.
It is worth noting that before the official report, many comments were criticizing the police, but after the official report, public opinion almost “reversed”. Why are the two “righteousnesses” fighting each other?
The comment “According to the law” pointed out that the police need to investigate and verify before determining whether campus bullying exists. Although the local education bureau denied the existence of long-term campus bullying, it is still difficult to determine the actual situation. In this matter, moral evaluation cannot replace legal evaluation, and the police cannot bypass the law and use private punishment.
The comment mentioned that netizens who praised the police’s behavior mostly believed that the police taught Ma, who had beaten others, a lesson and punished evil and promoted good. But isn’t the police’s behavior of punching and kicking Ma a problem with the scale of law enforcement? “Ma’s behavior is indeed hateful, but the police cannot be as overwhelmed by anger as ordinary people. Law enforcement officers should know and abide by the law, and those with power should not act arbitrarily, and those who use power should abide by the law. Otherwise, the personal safety of everyone will not be guaranteed.”
The New Yellow River comment pointed out that no matter how violent the behavior of the campus bully may be, the two police officers should not abuse private punishment and beat the suspect. Just as a lawyer wrote in his article expressing concern: If the police can use private punishment, what is the use of the law? If this continues, the personal rights of citizens and the peace of society will not be guaranteed at all, and the weak will not be able to survive. This is the common sense that a society ruled by law should have.
How to punish the “little overlord” is never a question that can be resolved with satisfaction in the judicial field. Whether it is the appalling case of the middle school students in Handan, Hebei, who murdered and buried the body, or other infuriating campus bullying incidents, these juvenile crimes that are on the “gray area” between justice and ethics face many difficulties and bottlenecks. A widespread “campus fear” has become a sensitive area of public opinion. The tearing of standpoints and viewpoints is actually the indignation of campus bullying.
The comment said that whether it is the innocent childishness that should exist between children’s groups, or the care that public officials should have when treating minors, social common sense can only be highlighted in the defense of justice from beginning to end. The absent and belated justice not only cannot protect common sense, but will deconstruct common sense, and society will turn to hope for extra-common sense and irrational forces to uphold justice.
Extreme indignation is terrible, and ignoring the root of the contradiction is undoubtedly more terrible. Behind this seemingly chaotic public opinion, is actually the public’s emotional expectation that campus violence, bullying, and other incidents need to be thoroughly eradicated. Otherwise, the angry public, chaotic public opinion, and potentially distorted views of justice will still be staged in reality.
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