Chapter 199 [You shouldn’t say that]

Li Wendi was unable to find out anything about what Wei Zuhui said in the ICAC, but there were only two possible outcomes: telling the truth or taking the responsibility. The former was undoubtedly the most likely, while the latter was extremely unlikely.

After all, Wei Zuhui and Li Wendi were only close friends, and there was even some grudge between them. Besides, there was no way for Wei Zuhui to get rid of the charge of bribery, and he would definitely be sentenced to several years in prison. It was only natural for him to take the opportunity to drag Li Wendi into the water.

As expected, on June 6, Li Wendi was taken away by the ICAC in the name of assisting in the investigation. Li Wendi of course asked his secretary to notify Zhao Wanying to come and help, as he did not want to be caught by the ICAC in any words.

Due to the ICAC's increased visibility, its office was moved to a building in Central. Although the decoration was not luxurious, it was comparable to that of an ordinary company.

Interrogation Room 002
There was a square table here. Opposite Li Wendi sat two office staff members, both dressed in suits and looking very serious.

"Mr. Li Wendi, according to the prisoner's confession, you provided 100 million yuan in funds to bribe the former Kowloon District Deputy Commander-in-Chief Peter Godber. What do you have to say about this?" The handsome man with a square face questioned in a serious tone, holding a confession.

Li Wendi had already prepared himself mentally, so he smiled and said, "I have never bribed Mr. Gerber. Who is the prisoner you are talking about?"

The square-faced man frowned, as if waiting for an order from his superior. After more than ten seconds, he replied, "Mr. Li, you should be familiar with the name Wei Zuhui. You have had financial dealings with him before."

"Wei Zuhui! Of course I am familiar with this name. I remember the 100 million yuan. It was the payment I made to him for his office building in Wan Chai. Although this transaction was not quite in line with the market price at that time, it involved the compensation for my mother who was hit by Wei Zuhui's son Wei Jiyuan. So, the office building worth more than 100 million yuan was bought by me for 100 million yuan. Is there anything wrong with this transaction?" Li Wendi explained seriously.

"Mr. Li, according to the evidence we have obtained, you have revised the contract with Wei Zuhui once. The first time, you could have acquired the office building of Wan Chai Commercial Building without spending a penny. Why did you revise the contract the second time and pay Wei Zuhui 100 million? And this 100 million happened to become the stolen money to bribe Peter Godber? How do you want to explain it?"

Li Wendi found it funny. "That's something Wei Zuhui has to explain. What does it have to do with me? I can explain why the contract needs to be modified."

"The reason is very simple. At that time, there were rumors that I, Li Wendi, was unfilial and used my mother's car accident to blackmail Wei Zuhui. I was very angry and felt bad. Moreover, Wei Zuhui had paid all my mother's medical expenses. Later, I felt that I did not need the 100 million, but I would definitely not buy it at the market price, because Wei Zuhui must compensate my mother for other losses. I also want to use this incident to warn Wei Zuhui and tell everyone that I, Li Wendi, am not someone to be trifled with." Li Wendi said in a gangster manner.

"Is it all up to you guys to ask for compensation? Besides, I'm not blackmailing Wei Zuhui. I've consulted a lawyer, and it's normal to pay hundreds of thousands in compensation." Li Wendi added.

In fact, he knew that the ICAC had no evidence to prosecute, otherwise they would not have questioned him so politely and would have notified the police to arrest him long ago.

"Mr. Li, do you have any evidence to prove that everything you said is true?"

Li Wendi couldn't help laughing, but she was busy apologizing, "Sorry, I really couldn't help it."

"This officer asked me if I had any evidence. Does this mean that the current procedure requires the assistants to prove themselves? To put it bluntly, if you have evidence, please sue me instead of asking me to prove my innocence."

The two ICAC officers were a little annoyed by Li Wendi's words, but they knew that what Li Wendi said made sense. It would be difficult to prosecute Li Wendi based solely on Wei Zuhui's confession. In addition, Li Wendi had a certain reputation in Hong Kong society, and the ICAC had just been established and needed to build up its prestige. If they messed up this matter with Li Wendi, the ICAC might end up in disgrace.

"Mr. Li, please wait here for a moment." The two men looked at each other and stood up and walked out.

Li Wendi guessed that the wall in front of him was a one-way mirror, and the heads of the ICAC were observing him. Now they should be discussing how to deal with him, and at the same time make Li Wendi produce some other emotions in the relatively closed room.

Li Wendi took a sip of coffee and smiled at the empty room, "You have the right to detain me for 48 hours, but I also have the right to explain to the reporters what happened to me here, and I can also sue you in court for abusing your rights and arbitrarily detaining Hong Kong citizens."

"I think my approach is of no benefit to everyone. You should have investigated my background and my methods. I am not someone who will just sit there and wait for death. Although I cannot report directly to the Governor, it is still easy for me to chat with the legislators and complain to you."

"I founded the Qi Nian Newspaper myself. Although it doesn't have the same influence as the Oriental Daily News and Sing Tao Daily, I think it won't be too difficult to spread my experience throughout Hong Kong and even Southeast Asia."

After that, Li Wendi stopped talking and drank his coffee quietly. If Zhao Wanying came, he would go out. I don't mind causing some trouble for the ICAC. With the power of those corrupt officials, it is enough for the ICAC to drink a pot.

The heads of the ICAC standing by the one-way mirror looked at Li Wendi and felt a headache. Li Wendi was obviously a tough opponent. It was normal procedure to ask him to come back to assist in the investigation based solely on his confession, but detaining him for too long seemed a bit excessive.

"What Li Wendi said makes sense. We now need to establish the prestige of the ICAC among the general public, and we have no evidence to prove that Li Wendi was involved in the Peter Godber bribery case." A fat man said with a serious expression.

"It seems that Li Wendi had already thought of a countermeasure before bribing Ge Bo and would not leave any evidence. Otherwise, he would not be so confident." said the burly middle-aged man.

"Then let them go first. Otherwise, if there is a commotion, it will not benefit anyone," said the fat man.

Soon, a subordinate rushed in and said hurriedly, "Director, Li Wendi's lawyer is here and wants to see you."

"Let the lawyer take Li Wendi away." The middle-aged man waved his hand and turned to the fat man and said, "Let's see if Li Wendi reveals his true colors next."

Five minutes later, the door of the interrogation room was opened.

The first person Li Wendi saw was Zhao Wanying, and his expression instantly turned ugly, "Did you ask them to let me go?"

Zhao Wanying nodded. "They didn't do anything to you, did they? If there is anything that is not in accordance with the procedure, we can sue for compensation."

"There was nothing unprocedural, it's just that they were not very professional and acted a bit like cold violence. The air conditioner was too cold. What if I couldn't stand the cold and said some nonsense? Could they say that I pleaded guilty?" Li Wendi said half-jokingly.

"It's okay. As long as they don't have evidence, the confession won't have much effect." Zhao Wanying knew that Li Wendi was playing tricks and was trying to intimidate and vent his emotions.

"Then let's go and don't disturb others." Li Wendi stood up and left the interrogation room.

Who knew that as soon as I arrived at the door, a group of reporters surrounded me, all wanting to get first-hand information.

"Mr. Li Wendi, are you related to the Peter Godber corruption case?"

"Why did the ICAC ask you to come back to assist in the investigation? I heard that this is related to the murder of former Wan Chai Detective Lin Jianmin, is that right?"

Li Wendi straightened his face and said, "Dear reporters, I just came back to assist in the investigation. Of course, this is in line with the office's procedures. However, I stayed in there for half an hour longer, and they neither asked me again nor paid any attention to me. If I had claustrophobia, I should be in the hospital by now."

"As for whether I have any connection with Peter Godber's corruption case, it is no longer up to me to decide. I don't know whether I am innocent or not, because I don't know how many times I will be asked to come back to assist in the investigation."

Li Wendi's words were undoubtedly a criticism of the ICAC's working methods, causing a lot of damage to the ICAC's newly established prestige.

"Mr. Li, do you mean that you were treated unfairly in there? What exactly did the ICAC do to you?"

"What did you do? I'd better not tell you, otherwise I'll have to go back to drink tea." Li Wendi shook his head helplessly, and left in a car under the escort of bodyguards.

Zhao Wanying said coldly, "You shouldn't have said those words just now. The ICAC is sincerely trying to clean up the corruption environment in Hong Kong. Your actions will make their work more and more difficult, which is not conducive to uncovering all corrupt officials."

(End of this chapter)