Themis is Blind - Some thoughts after summer in Chambers

J, an Indian, was born in Hong Kong, just like his father, aunts and uncles and other relatives. He abandoned school at Form 4 to help his father's carpet business in which J has ended some years ago. Unemployed with his wife and two children, a boy and girl aged 9 and 6 respectively, another Indian, M, invited him to do a part - time job in a shop at Tsim Sha Tsui. He worked for about one and half month, receiving a modest wage at around 4000$/month. One night, he was arrested; charged with possession for the sale or for any purpose of trade or manufacture goods to which a forged trade mark was applied, contrary to section 9(2) as read with section 18(1) of the Trade Description Ordinance Chapter 362. It was found his shop sells faked iPhone and Nokia products.

A, a Filipino, helped her sister - in - law S, also a Filipino, to imitate the signature of his brother, S's husband, to extend her stay in Hong Kong. A's brother refused to sign for S because of their deteriorated relationship and so she could only plead A to copy her husband's signature. A was charged with forgery, contrary to s. 71 of the Crime Ordinance , Cap 200. According to the brief facts, an anonymous email was sent to the Immigration Office Department and exposed this.

E, a Filipino, was a driver in Saudi Arabia for the past ten years. Last two years, he returned home in Philippine to take care of his family. His daughter attracted a disease that will cause blindness if medical operation can not be carried out swiftly. In the urgent need for funds, he accepted an offer of a man to carry over 1.5kg ketamine to Hong Kong. He was arrested at the Hong Kong International Airport; charged with trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to s. 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drug Ordinance, Cap 134 (a minimum staring point of 10 years imprisonment after plea of guilty, according to case laws).

Law serves Justice but in the eyes of J, A and E, Justice means suppression. For J, Justice means getting into prison and to leave his wife and two children. For A, Justice means her sister - in - law should be left abused by her husband. For E, Justice means to believe fate and that her daughter becomes blind. For million others, Justice means that they should either submit to the social injustices or they will be subjugated under the sword of Themis. Themis is, of course, blind. She is blind to how people struggled to live. She is blind to how responsibly people suffer for the sake of government's inadequacies. She is blind, after all, to social injustices.