A sudden tragedy shattered the bustling scene of the city center. That afternoon, the elevator of a high-end shopping mall in the downtown area suddenly fell, catching everyone off guard. With a screeching sound of metal and a loud crash, the elevator plunged from several dozen meters high, crashing to the ground. Chaos ensued instantly as the cries and groans of the victims echoed throughout the mall, with many trapped inside the fallen elevator, their blood staining the mall floor.
Su Wanqing and Lu Chenzhou received the alarm and quickly arrived at the scene. The horrific sight left them heavy-hearted. Mall employees and customers stood in shock, their expressions revealing their fear and unease about the accident. Emergency responders were already on-site, performing rescue operations, and the injured were quickly taken to the hospital, but several victims remained trapped inside the elevator, their fates uncertain.
"This accident is not as simple as it seems," Su Wanqing said quietly, standing next to the wreckage of the elevator. Her sharp eyes scanned everything around her. She noticed that several of the victims had small metal fragments scattered on their clothing, resembling iron filings sticking to the fabric, which clearly were not from the mall, but directly related to the elevator itself.
"These metal fragments…" Su Wanqing crouched down and picked up a piece of the broken component, inspecting it carefully. "This is a fragment from the elevator's braking system. This means the braking system failed, causing the elevator to fall."
Lu Chenzhou frowned, his gaze sweeping across the elevator debris, already having an inkling of what had happened. He spoke in a low voice, "This wasn't a simple equipment malfunction. We need to immediately investigate to see if there's a human cause behind this accident."
After initial investigations and statements from the injured, Su Wanqing and Lu Chenzhou began a more thorough inquiry. Surveillance footage from before the elevator's fall showed that there was no warning before it plummeted, clearly indicating a failure in the braking system. Further investigation revealed significant issues with the records from the elevator maintenance company, especially with the most recent inspection, where the braking system had not undergone a comprehensive check or replacement of parts as required.
"This company has a lot of problems," Lu Chenzhou said after contacting the elevator maintenance company's relevant personnel. He found that the company had long been engaging in cost-cutting practices, skipping crucial parts of the elevator checks and maintenance. The maintenance reports were full of false records. The person in charge had attempted to cover up these issues by forging reports and hiding the truth to avoid responsibility.
Su Wanqing was highly sensitive to this. Her intuition told her that this accident was not just a simple mechanical failure. Elevators are high-frequency-use equipment and should be inspected rigorously. If any part of it malfunctioned, the consequences could be catastrophic. It seemed that these issues had been deliberately ignored, even intentionally manufactured.
"The person in charge must have had a motive," Su Wanqing analyzed. "He likely realized that the company's repeated cost-cutting measures would eventually lead to an accident, but to save money and avoid scrutiny, he resorted to extreme measures."
Lu Chenzhou nodded and quickly retrieved the background information on Li Ming, the head of the maintenance company. Through investigation, Lu Chenzhou discovered that Li Ming's personal finances were in deep trouble, with massive debts, and that he had a complex relationship with the mall's management. He had been trying to cut costs and shorten the inspection cycles to make more profit, thus attempting to cover his financial crisis.
Further evidence showed that Li Ming had repeatedly been pressured by the mall's management to lower the maintenance costs for the elevators, and in order to avoid responsibility, he began intentionally ignoring the quality of the maintenance, even avoiding regular inspection procedures. However, these actions didn't last long. As the elevator parts gradually aged and failed, Li Ming's behavior unknowingly sowed the seeds for this disaster.
"This elevator fall was definitely planned by Li Ming," Lu Chenzhou said gravely. "He thought he could hide the facts and avoid responsibility, but he underestimated the consequences of this accident."
Further investigation revealed that in the past few months, Li Ming's company had reduced the frequency of replacing the elevator's braking components, and some old parts had been reused, which clearly didn't meet safety standards. At the same time, Li Ming had been taking huge kickbacks from the mall to ease his debt pressure. The mall management, driven by cost-saving motives, had turned a blind eye to the elevator's safety risks.
In the end, Li Ming was arrested, and the mall was held accountable for neglecting safety hazards and failing to maintain the equipment as required. However, the case didn't end there. Further scrutiny revealed that although Li Ming was the direct cause of the accident, the mall management was also at fault. In their pursuit of economic benefits, they repeatedly pressured for lower elevator maintenance costs, creating this irresponsible, vicious cycle.
"Li Ming has been caught, but the mall's management can't be absolved of responsibility," Su Wanqing analyzed. "Behind this accident, it was the pursuit of profits and the disregard for safety that cost innocent lives."
When the case was finally resolved, the court sentenced Li Ming to a heavy prison term for deliberately causing the accident. The mall management was also held accountable for their negligence, fined, and required to compensate the victims' families. This incident sparked widespread public attention on the safety of public facilities, with many calling for stricter management and regular inspections to prevent similar tragedies from happening again.
However, despite the case coming to a close, Su Wanqing and Lu Chenzhou remained heavy-hearted. Behind every case, there are complex motives and interests, and for the innocent victims, the tragedy could not be undone.
"Every time, we are fighting against invisible shadows," Su Wanqing said, gazing at the sky outside the mall, her voice heavy. "But even so, justice will always arrive, even if it's late."
Lu Chenzhou remained silent, his eyes fixed on the distant city. He knew that while they had brought justice to this accident, the real challenges were far from over.