"Half a fingerprint locks the real culprit", how did the winner of the "July 1st Medal" do it?
Relying on a bullet case to clear the fog of the 1997 "China Criminal Investigation No. 1" case, only half a fingerprint can pinpoint the murder case, and play an important role in the "Gansu Silver Serial Murder Case"... Qi Gong, Cui Daozhi has participated in the inspection and appraisal of difficult traces in more than 1,200 major and serious cases in the 66 years since he has been a police officer, without any errors, and is known as the "soul of Chinese criminal police."
Cui Daozhi (middle), winner of the "July 1st Medal", attended the press conference of the Ministry of Public Security.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Public Security
On the afternoon of July 2, Cui Daozhi, who had just won the party’s highest honor "July 1st Medal", attended the press conference of the Ministry of Public Security.
Despite being 87 years old, Choi Do-sik is still full of energy and a loud voice.
On that day, he deliberately wore an 89-style old police uniform, which was particularly eye-catching.
When sharing his feelings about the award with reporters on the scene, Cui Daozhi said, “This heavy medal is not only awarded to me. This honor belongs to the 2 million police officers across the country. It is also a commendation and affirmation to the public security team. A member of this team".
Only half a fingerprint can pinpoint the murderer
Who is Choi Dosik?
Although it is called the "Dinghai Shenzhen" for the identification of traces of major and difficult criminal cases in the Chinese police circle, this name is not particularly familiar to ordinary people who are far from criminal investigation work.
After being awarded the "July 1st Medal" in the Golden Hall of the Great Hall of the People on June 29, the spotlight of the media once again gathered on the old man.
Photos of Choi Do-sik during the Volunteer Army.
Photo courtesy of the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security
In 1955, 21-year-old Cui Daozhi transferred from the army to join the public security work. He was the first generation of people's police after the founding of New China; he was also the chief trace inspection expert in China and the first batch of specially invited criminal investigation experts by the Ministry of Public Security.
After retiring formally in 1994, Choi Dao-sik still worked hard, fighting on the front line of criminal investigation work.
For 66 years as a police officer, he has participated in the inspection and appraisal of difficult traces in more than 1,200 major and serious cases, and has accumulatively identified more than 7,000 trace evidences without any errors.
The on-site trace evidence image processing system and the automatic identification system for bullet traces developed by him have filled a number of technical gaps in China.
In the history of public security criminal investigation in New China, the name "Cui Daozhi" is a legend.
Open the yellowed case file and set the hour hand back to the beginning of the 21st century.
In 2002, a mother and son in a county in Heilongjiang were killed at home. Only half of a bloody fingerprint was left on the newspaper left at the scene.
A number of authoritative appraisal agencies have concluded that "features of fingerprints are few, and the conditions for identification are not met". The case has been delayed for five years and no progress has been made.
In desperation, Cui Daozhi was ordered to fight for two days and nights when he was in danger, carefully comparing hundreds of fingerprints, and finally found 7 characteristic points in the left thumbprint of a suspect that matched the blood fingerprints on the spot.
In front of the evidence, the suspect confessed.
The tiny traces that ordinary people seem to be indistinguishable, but in the eyes of Cui Daozhi, there are some insightful questions from the university.
Different crime scenes have different traces of "expressions".
The magical thing about Choi Do-sik is that he can accurately capture the "expression" that is never the same at the crime scene.
Through the analysis of the "expressions" of gunshot marks, footprints, fingerprints, and bite marks, Cui Daozhi can accurately restore the crime scene at the scene, and then delineate the suspect.
"Seeing the marks and knowing the guns" from the police training in 66 years
The detection of major and important cases is often deadlocked due to insufficient evidence, but Cui Dao-sik's trace inspection work can always clear the fog and turn things around.
As one of the earliest experts in China to study the identification of bullet marks, Cui Daozhi’s "unique skill" was to discover and distinguish bullet marks like hair.
There are tens of thousands of various guns and ammunition studied by Choi Do-sik.
In his 66 years as a police officer, in the practice of testing one shot and one bullet, he has developed the vision and experience of "seeing the mark to know the gun" and "watching the bullet to know the gun".
Looking at Cui Daozhi’s work history, the cases he has handled include "Gansu Silver Serial Murder", "Zhang Jun Extraordinary Series Robbery and Murder Case", "Shenyang Money Transport Vehicle Robbery", "Zhengzhou Gun Robbery", etc... The small traces found throughout the night have provided important clues and evidence for solving the case.
In the summer of 2020, Cui Dao-sik is conducting physical evidence identification work.
Photo courtesy of the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security
Trace inspection includes fingerprints, footprints, tool traces, gun bullet traces, etc. These tasks are all criminal science and technology work. What needs to be researched and determined is often life-threatening evidence, and often small traces may become major clues to solving a case.
Recalling his career as a police officer, Cui Daozhi said that when dealing with criminal science and technology, one must not be negligent or hasty, and must carefully and rigorously investigate all possible traces of the scene, and there must be no omissions.
"Whether it is the'Baibaoshan case' or the'Zhang Shuhai case', I have been meticulous, careful, truth-seeking and pragmatic in dealing with every case, every trace, and every clue."
"If there is an afterlife, I am still willing to do this work"
Despite his advanced age, Choi Do-sik has been retiring and continues to play his remaining heat on the criminal investigation front.
In 1995, the number of gun-related cases nationwide was on the rise.
The Ministry of Public Security has included the subject of the "Automatic Recognition System for Traces of Guns and Bullets" in the "Tenth Five-Year Plan".
At that time, Choi Dao-sik was 62 years old. Although he retired from his formal job, he still wondered if he could make some contributions to the research on the modern management technology of national warhead trace files.
Cui Dao-sik, winner of the "July 1st Medal".
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Public Security
"In 1997, I visited the International Criminal Investigation Equipment Exhibition organized by the Ministry of Public Security. I saw the automatic identification systems for bullet traces in Canada and the United States at the exhibition. I was very anxious. "System", it is really guilt." Cui Daozhi said.
He secretly made up his mind to break this fortress.
For this reason, Cui Daozhi successively visited 7 domestic universities and 3 precision instrument research institutes, went to 3 domestic aluminum factories and aluminum foil factories, designed 4 model drawings, and found 4 mechanical processing factories for trial production.
Hard work pays off.
After more than 5 years of research, he finally invented the technology of extracting traces with special aluminum foil film, and finally developed the "Automatic Recognition System for Warhead Rifling Traces" and obtained the invention patent certificate. The rifling traces copied with it are clear and stable. , The overall technology of the system has reached the international advanced level.
Just last summer, Cui Daozhi also used the fingerprint restoration system he invented, after 9 days and 9 nights of unremitting efforts, successfully locked multiple evidence characteristics of a deformed fingerprint submitted by the Mudanjiang City Public Security Bureau.
At the same time, he is sorting out the typical case data of past investigations every day and preparing to edit it into a book, hoping to provide some references for the grassroots investigators.
Cui Daozhi (middle), winner of the "July 1st Medal", attended the press conference of the Ministry of Public Security.
Photo by Guo Chaokai
"I am 87 years old this year, but I have never had the concept of'retirement'. I have been doing trace inspection work until now. Work is my pleasure. I feel that every time I solve a case, I get younger once; I was young for a difficult problem. Just like what I wrote in my application for joining the party decades ago, “I love my job, and all the jobs my superiors give me, I love it because it’s What the people gave me... "I have never forgotten and never changed this. I am ready to pay the last moment of my life for the party and the people." Cui Daozhi said.
At an eighty-year-old still fighting on the front line of criminal investigation work, someone will always ask Cui Daozhi if he is tired.
In response, he replied: "I think people must have ideals and beliefs in their hearts. With ideals and beliefs, work and life will not be tired, work will be full of energy, and there will be no day and night. More What's more, when the physical evidence was sent to me, I was basically holding the last hope. If I can't solve the problem, some people will be wronged in tears and some will be at large. For the sake of the truth, what is it that I work a little harder?"
"If there is an afterlife, I am still willing to do this work." Choi Daozhi said.
Reporter: Guo Chaokai