Wang Huan (right) interrogates suspects in a detention center in Chaoyang district, Beijing. Provided to China Daily

It can be a heavy responsibility deciding whether to open or close the door to a prosecution in just seven days, as Cao Yin finds out.

What could you do in a week? For Wang Huan, that is the time she has to decide someone's fate. As a prosecutor responsible for investigation and supervision, the 37-year-old has just seven days in which to review a case, examining the evidence and interrogating the suspects, before deciding whether or not to prosecute.

"My work is regarded as the 'door' to a prosecution. In other words, if there is something wrong in this step, the subsequent procedures will be affected. An error may result in a false conviction," says Wang, who works in Beijing No 3 People's Procuratorate.

"But the most terrible part of it is, such an important task and heavy workload must be finished within seven days," she says.

Ten years ago, Wang graduated from the law school at Renmin University in Beijing. Her first case was a complicated gang-related case involving 17 charges and more than 40 suspects.

"I had little time to settle into my role. Instead, I had to read more than 40 files of evidence and draw up an outline of the case within a week."

Although Wang thought she was good at summarizing and giving the main idea of an article, she found following the case frustrating. Many of the suspects had nicknames and she had to figure out who each of them was among more than 60 names in the files.

"I had to work overtime to make clear all the facts and draw up a picture of all the different relationships between the suspects," she says.

Like other law graduates, Wang originally dreamed of being a judge, handing out verdicts and representing justice.

"I even looked down upon my job and felt upset at the beginning, since I had never heard about it and didn't know what I could do here," she says.

It wasn't until she finished the case and made the decision to arrest the suspects that she realized how interesting and challenging it was deciding whether to open or close the "door" to prosecution.

Now when new cases are allocated to Wang's department, she is always the first one to understand them. "I am curious about the stories behind these incidents," she says.

She once stayed at a party for less than hour and left in a hurry, because she was then working on an international fraud case. "I was confused as I read through the evidence, as it involved so much professional and complicated Internet knowledge," she says.

"It brought me a lot trouble and I can't say how many times I had to ask for help from our newly established online security department."

It was this case that prompted the passionate prosecutor to gain computer expertise so she would be better equipped to deal with online crimes, which she realized would increase as the Internet was becoming more and more popular in China.

Now, Wang handles about 60 cases a year, which means she at least has one new case to deal with every week. Her biggest anxiety: a murder case.

In 2007, Wang was asked to interrogate a man in his 30s, who was accused of killing a woman in an apartment in Beijing.

"The man went back on what he had said several times during the inquiry, but the evidence wasn't solid enough," she says.

However, considering all the evidence against him, such as video from a surveillance camera putting him at the scene around the time the murder took place, she decided to approve his detention and open the door to his prosecution.

"To ensure I handle each case accurately, especially the murder ones, I keep track of them, even though the next steps are not my responsibility," she says.

She always smiles at everyone, although she feels the weight of responsibility, says Han Wanyan, another prosecutor in the authority.

"No matter how busy my work is, I take time to accompany my daughter and find time to read some good books, which helps me find inner peace," Wang says.

"I heard my 13-year-old child say: 'I have evidence to refute you'," she adds, laughing.

Contact the writer at caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn

Wang keeps smiling as a way to release the pressure of her heavy workload. Provided to China Daily

(China Daily 07/20/2014 page4)