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Christmas Rose (2013)
Court!
As a defense counsel, I used to help people clear their charges As a prosecutor, I can convict real criminals Winston Zhou Mr Winston Zhou, at 18:45 on October 31, 2012, in Rm 3610 on 36/F of Chinese Liaison Building, you were suspected of violating Section 122 of Chapter 200 of the Laws of Hong Kong by indecently assaulting a 25-year-old piano teacher Jane Li How do you plead, guilty or not guilty? Not guilty The Reagan Chan case is as you have expected He played victim while duping small shareholders Many employees lost their jobs as a result What about Fortune Bank? I just investigated for you They deliberately misled those small customers into purchasing structured investment products, causing great loss to everybody eventually I'm not going to take the Reagan Chan case And I won't settle out of court with Fortune Bank How come you never accept certain cases? I won't accept cases I don't believe in Did you forget I'm the master of your chambers? Aren't you supposed to be liable to me? I'm only liable to my clients I can't think of any chambers you can fit in If our destinations differ, we go separate ways You should understand that Patient Liu Cheng-on Please go to Chinese Medication Room to collect your medicine Dad, what is it about? Just leave the stuff here Every time I called you, you never replied You could leave a message I gave you a tie at your graduation I wonder if it's still there If there's nothing else, I better get going But you only just came Stay a bit longer If I don't need to be hospitalized regularly, would you still come visit me? Ray Hung, the property developer suspected of sexual assault, is in court today Details of the case will not be made public till after the trial Why don't you discuss it with Ms Chan? If this trial continues, Ms Chan's personal life will be exposed If the charge is changed to molestation, my client will plead guilty immediately We lawyers should not make decisions for our clients anyway Property developer Ray Hung was in sexual assault again 2 weeks after his release The victim is the plaintiff in the molestation case You told me to reduce his sentence Now he's not scared Is there a deal between you lawyers? Aren't you obligated to protect me? An attorney merely proposes what questions the defense counsel will ask you You're well aware of my situation You know how it would ruin me "Rape Plantiff Commits Suicide" Don't bring me any fruits next time I can't eat sweet things because of my illness All right "Father" Is your dad alright? Well... Where are you going? To Beijing Have you forgotten? Haven't we agreed already? I'm taking my students to Beijing this weekend We're going back to see my parents Have I said that? Tell me, have you forgotten? Since I've forgotten anyway, just stay This song, Christmas Rose, is very difficult Ms Zhao needs to learn it within a short time? My boyfriend loves the song I want to give him a surprise at the wedding Congratulations! Thank you Ms Li will teach you from now on Good Just call me Jane I'll be much obliged Thank you Nurse Lin, sorry for being late today. Never mind Jane Doctor Zhou During my last period, my tummy hurts Don't worry. I'll give you a checkup later The nurse will help you change Looks like you prefer this dress to the other one Let's order this one then But I've decided to lose weight Still? You're already very skinny I just quit Hill's Chambers But don't worry Tim, I know your greatest dream is to open your own chambers We have savings anyway Use the cash. We can delay the wedding If it's not enough, I can borrow from my dad Opening my chambers or not doesn't matter I don't want you to worry about my work Nothing will affect our wedding I want you to be my happy wife Jane! What happened to you? Any prescriptions, Nurse Lin? It's only a checkup today Thank you Jane? OK I have to go Didn't you want to see Tina at Dr Zhou's place? I don't want to go I'm not feeling well. Let's go back to the shop Dr Zhou Ms Law Didn't we say we would leave together? It seems that Jane is not feeling well She wants to go back and rest Oh, I see Never mind. I'll give you a lift Thank you You are welcome I've decided to join you and work for the government Being a court prosecutor just like me? I went to the Legal Department to be a prosecutor As a defense counsel, I used to help people clear their charges As a prosecutor, I can convict real criminals It suits me better Hey... You still have to take the test this year? Of course I'm only one step away from being a lawyer Good luck! Cheers! Let me... Sorry, Dr Zhou Let me help you Come Stay away! I'll help you What's with you? Stay away! Jane, what happened? What's going on here? Nothing, we're fine here Miss, are you all right? Should we call an ambulance? Miss Hello? Speaking... What's the matter? I'm Freddy Xue. Just call me Freddy Winston Zhou Let's cut to the chase They will take your statement in a moment But I want you to remain silent Let's wait till you're released on bail We'll have a meeting outside and we'll give it further thought We'll then give the police a full statement, OK? I'm innocent I understand How pretty Looks better on camera than in real life First, there's no direct witness in this case But since you're Jane Li's employer and doctor and your clinic was the alleged crime scene, the Prosecution can find lots of evidence of doubt You're in breach of trust This sort of cases is usually prejudicial to men Mrs Zhou, since your husband is a celebrity, please be prepared psychologically Before the court has passed its judgement, public opinions will have convicted him This is the social pressure of public opinion There's one thing that favors you though In criminal cases, you are presumed innocent by the law The burden of proof lies on the prosecution However, besides the girl in this case, there was no other eye witness It's a matter of the court trusting your testimony or hers Tim! It's a case of indecent assault. Can you handle it? Sure, no problem It's not complicated By the way, the defense counsel is from Hill's Chambers Who? Freddy Xue Do you know who is the prosecutor for your case? It's Tim Chen Freddy Xue He has a meteoric rise in recent years He won't take cases that don't make money He has never lost a single case His father is some entrepreneur in the Mainland So a rich brat like him can be capable too It's weird you guys never met Maybe because we wish to protect different folks Here's the main point Besides Winston Zhou's information, I found out that at the age of 6 of 7, Jane Li was sent to an orphanage by her mother She later had an accident that crippled her legs Then she started giving kids piano lessons And now, yet another atrocity According to psychologists, desertion and sexual assault leave the worst scars Mr Winston Zhou at 18:45 on October 31, 2012, in Rm 3610 on 36/F of Chinese Liaison Building, you were suspected of violating Section 122 of Chapter 200 of the Laws of Hong Kong by indecently assaulting a 25-year-old piano teacher Jane Li How do you plead, guilty or not guilty? Winston Zhou How do you plead? Not guilty Join Tina's birthday party at our place next week William has swimming lessons on Sundays Oh, I see Shirley has painting lessons Never mind. I've written the invites anyway Thank you I'll give them to you first Thank you, so beautiful Yes, it's so delicate and beautiful The show starts now Tina! OK! That's it for today's rehearsal Let's do it again next week! Say goodbye to your teacher Bye Mrs Zhou, there are reporters outside Mrs Zhou, do you believe Mr Zhou is innocent? Mrs Zhou, do you believe... Say a few words! Little girl, has your dad and Ms Li done anything irregular? Hey! You're too much! Get out of our way! Mrs Zhou... Mrs Zhou, say a few words Ms Li is here! Make way please! First Trial Hi, Tim! I've heard so much about you I'm Freddy Nice to meet you Nice to meet you I've heard so much about you I feel as if we've known each other for ages Yes Is that so? I know your dad was a famous prosecutor too I've studied many of his cases He was my idol at school I'm so glad I can go to trial against his son today Pleased to meet you Court! Your Honor, the Prosecution calls as witness Sergeant John Li Sergeant Li, can you describe the event to us? According to Ms Jane Li's statement, at 18:20 on October 31, 2012, she went to the defendant's clinic for checkup When the defendant conducted the checkup, he illegally touched her breasts and lower body On the floor and on the bed in the crime scene, we collected both parties' DNA and finger prints Both parties' statements and the injury reports indicate prima facie evidence can be established We therefore decided to prosecute the defendant Sergeant Li during the entire alleged indecent assault, were there any eye witnesses? In most cases of indecent assault, there are no... Please just answer "yes" or "no" No In other words, the police based their judgement entirely on Ms Li's statement and some circumstantial evidence. Is that correct? You can say so In fact, the evidence you have mentioned, only suggests that they had physical contacts It doesn't imply Dr Zhou has assaulted Ms Li Can I say that? You can Let me ask another question Why is the police so certain the evidence is enough for prosecution? Is it because... the plaintiff is a young girl on a wheelchair? Are you so eager to protect the underprivileged that you decide the accused must have violated Ms Li? Am I correct? Your Honor, objection. The question is leading Your Honor, no further questions Ms Law, what happened on the day of the incident? That day our class was delayed So I telephoned Dr Zhou that we'll be late and I accompanied Jane to the clinic After Jane Li entered Dr Zhou's room, were you present at the scene? No, I waited for her outside Did you hear any sounds from the room? I seem to have heard someone cry How did it sound like? Did it sound like Ms Li crying for help? I'm not sure I watched that drama you had been watching During the exact time of the alleged incident, the two leads were having a fierce argument They shouted vehemently Are you sure the sounds came from the room? When Ms Li exited the clinic, did she mention to you that Dr Zhou had molested her? No But her eyes were red, as if she had cried Could Ms Li have red eyes because she had worked hard and was tired? Objection! No more questions, Your Honor Ms Lin, were you present throughout Ms Li's checkup? I was there at the beginning Then a patient who just left the clinic called, saying he had left his meds The meds were for his asthma and he's an elderly I thought I ought to give him the meds asap When you returned to the clinic, was Dr Zhou still examining Ms Li? When I returned to the clinic, I found Ms Li having fallen on the ground I immediately helped her get up What happened? If you are a patient now, and a male doctor is examining your body, and there are just the two of you in the room, if you feel something wrong, would you terminate the checkup? I would What if the doctor would not stop? I would get up and leave immediately If, unfortunately, your feet cannot move? What would you do? You would struggle desperately, using your upper body to push him off and flee But too bad your feet cannot move Eventually, you fall down from the bed Your Honor, when a doctor examines a patient, he is not legally required to have a nurse present I have 38 letters from patients who have been seeing Dr Zhou over the years, testifying to his professional and moral integrity Your Honor, according to Exhibit P7 supplied by the Prosecution, namely Ms Li's medical report, the sex organs in Ms Li's lower body could be as sensitive as those of ordinary people. Ms Jane Li When Dr Zhou's hand approached your breasts, did you protest? Yes, I did When he continued the checkup, did you feel the defandant place his finger inside your sex organ? Yes Did you indicate resistance? Yes Did he stop in accordance with your indication? No The more I struggled, the harder he grabbed me Then the phone rang And he stopped Do you know who called him? What else did he say? Hello? Yes, we just finished the checkup Wife, I'll be back for dinner very soon. Wait for me OK, bye And then, I wanted to take the opportunity to escape but fell down from the bed The nurse entered the room She saw me and helped me get up All right I want to ask you another question Did Dr Zhou employ you? Or did Mrs Zhou? They employed me together Can you elaborate? Eve introduced us This couple wanted me to give their kid piano lessons at home Mr Zhou said he could arrange transportation I already explained the problem with the pedal They think it's all right for a beginner You mean to say that... Dr Zhou took the initiative to employ you and even offered you transportation Is that correct? Yes Your Honor, I have no further questions Ms Li After the nurse left, did Dr Zhou continue the checkup? Yes He said, "Let's continue" How did he continue the checkup? He started pressing different parts of my body before putting his hand on my breasts Breasts? When you said breasts, did you mean here? No, a bit lower So you were referring to the lower chest, right? No, yes... Have you had physical checkup before? No So what criteria did you use to judge... Dr Zhou's checkup? I could feel being molested I felt uncomfortable I knew he was molesting me What had Dr Zhou done to make you uncomfortable? He took my panties... off Wait Because your lower body is paralyzed, you cannot take your panties off yourself Can I say that? I cannot when I'm lying down I understand. Please continue And then, I saw... him put his finger... into my lower body Saw? Ms Li You were lying in bed and you were wearing a robe You couldn't have seen that You mean you felt it, right? Yes, I felt it. Since you said you had felt it, can you indicate on this picture which part of your body had that feeling? Here So what you meant by lower body is actually the sex organ? So what did you feel at the time? I felt... his finger... twitching What kind of feeling was that? It could be pain or pleasure Objection Mr Xue, please pay attention to your question Excuse me, Your Honor Ms Li You said you never had a lower body checkup? Never Could you have confused lower body checkup with molestation? I did not confuse I was really molested I really felt his finger twitching in my lower body Are you a virgin? Your Honor, whether Ms Li is a virgin or not is irrelevant Your Honor, whether Ms Li is a virgin or not as well as her sexual experience are critical to this case Her accusation could cause serious damage to the defendant's d reputation Please let me ask the question Objection overruled. Please proceed cautiously Ms Li, please answer my question Yes Have you ever had a boyfriend or tried any sexual activities? No Nothing, right? Right So I think you must have been mistaken Dr Zhou's checkup is just regular checkup I did feel his finger twitching in my lower body How long did the lower body checkup last? I don't remember You remember the nurse left for 5 minutes... but not how long the checkup lasted? About one minute then I'm actually quite curious If Dr Zhou really molested you, why hadn't you told the nurse or Ms Law at once? I was scared. I didn't dare to say anything You didn't know how a lower body checkup should feel like You couldn't tell body checkup from molestation Your Honor, Ms Li said she could feel it, but she actually didn't know Dr Zhou was only using a cotton swab No! He was using his finger! to extract secretions for laboratory tests It wasn't his finger as she has claimed No! This is the cotton swab used by the defendant to extract secretions from her Your Honor, I have no further questions Ms Li... Don't push... Many people are supporting him now. How do you feel? Everybody, please calm down... Please get out of my way... Ms Li Please step aside... How's the situation outside? The cars of the TV reporters are still out there Where's Jane Li? She seems to be shocked by the reporters Have a word with her It's Tim Hello? Be prepared during this period Those reporters will come out of nowhere I fear that might affect the kids taking lessons Don't think too much You have behaved very bravely I don't want to press charges anymore Don't worry I will claim justice for you So sorry for troubling you Don't think like that We shouldn't condone people like that What's so scary? Treat the reporters as your students Everyone is striving to ask you questions But sorry, the teacher only teaches nice kids Ms Li, I need to talk to Yan. Thank you Sure Is she feeling better? She's fine. Let's see Ming Jun I need to pick Tina up at school This is it Come in How pretty Whenever I'm tired, I'll pick a postcard Then I'll close my eyes and imagine I'm on a trip for a few seconds I wish I had the chance to visit every single place Every single place? Isn't it too greedy? No... Please take a seat It's good to dream What's your dream? To see my son grow up healthily Look Tim was there too My wife had a premature labor I was at court at that time So he drove them to the hospital Ms Li gave you this Good morning See you at court Good luck! Second Trial The Defense calls Dr Mandy Wu, Senior Lecture of Gynecology A female full body checkup normally includes the lower body, unless individual subjects refuse When examining the lower body, a doctor will extract secretions from the sex organ for lab tests, in order to check if there are abnormalities or granular objects on the sex organ which could be benign or malignant tumors This is very important So during the checkup as described, the subject could have twitching sensations in her lower body? Some women, especially if it's their first checkup, or if they have no sexual experience, might be oversensitive, uncomfortable or resistant So would the subject misunderstand that the doctor is trying to violate her? That's the worst nightmare of most male doctors Such misunderstanding can ruin their reputation Who would dare to see them again? Mrs Zhou, what's your opinion of Mr Zhou? He's a good man A 100% good man He is very conscientious at work and he takes good care of the family He loves me and our daughter On the day of the incident, at 18:38, did you telephone Mr Zhou? I did What did he say? He said he had just finished the checkup He asked me to wait for him for dinner During your telephone conversation, did you hear or feel anything exceptional? Like the sobbing sounds of a female No! Exactly the same as usual The defendant never lies to you, right? Right He says frankness is paramount in a marriage During the ten years from your first date till now, has the defendant had affairs with other women? Certainly not Do you believe he's secretly dated other women? I don't believe Do you believe he's secretly dated Jane Li? Certainly not This is the defendant's SMS record The items with the stars are the SMS texts the defendant sent to Jane Li I'm going to read aloud the content "It's your birthday next week. Can I take you out for dinner?" You haven't said a word since the court What's going on? Nothing What's on your mind? Nothing Something is obviously on your mind Do you doubt me? No Then why are you upset? If you were me, you'd be upset too Are you bored with me? So leisurely? The court will start in 30 minutes You better think of a way to beat me Beating you or not doesn't matter I only want Winston Zhou to get his dues Your judgement is a bit premature You know there are lots of holes in the evidence If this drags on, Jane Li will only suffer more Don't hold me responsible then You should tell your client It's only because he wouldn't plead guilty that Jane Li is suffering so much Everyone has the right to make his own choice See you at court I, Winston Zhou, honestly swear and affirm that the evidence I give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth Third Trial Dr Zhou, during Ms Li's body checkup, did you feel any exceptional moves on her part? After I finished her body checkup, she suddenly grabbed my hand The laboratory report will be ready in 2 days Grabbed your hand? What was your reaction? It was too sudden So I did not react Meaning her behavior was totally unexpected Correct? Yes On Ms Li's birthday, did you send her an SMS asking to take her out? Yes Why did you do that? She told me she had no company on her birthday It just happened that I was free that day I pitied her spending her birthday alone, so I asked her out But you did not mention this to anyone? Including your wife? No Because it didn't work out in the end I would have asked my wife and daughter to join I understand That's why you asked her out It's only out of goodwill Right And also your compassion for her You can say that Hmm... Mr Zhou Besides at home and when giving her rides home, have you met Ms Li in other occasions? My clinic is closed to her piano store I had lunch with her several times Did you take the initiative? Yes Why? She's lonely and sad. I felt like taking care of her So did you have affection for Ms Li? No Then why did you have dates with her alone? You didn't even tell your wife You have dates with someone you're not fond of? Objection, Your Honor! The adjective "fond" is too general Please allow the defendant to explain Objection sustained The defendant please explain Because she's an excellent piano teacher and she loved my girl, so I took care of her I absolutely had no affection for her Do you think she had affection for you? I mean the amorous kind I had suspected that, but I wasn't sure because she would give me little gifts What little gifts? Little handicrafts: origami roses She also gave Tina similar gifts If you said Tina also had these origami gifts, why do you think Ms Li had affection for you? Could it be... a subjective projection of your own? No If as you've said, Ms Li was truly fond of you Did you ever feel tempted? Objection! The question calls for speculation Objection overruled The defendant must answer the question No Absolutely no Mr Zhou, I really don't understand your mentality You said Ms Li had affection for you and you also knew she trusted you very much You are a doctor, but in the absence of any nursing staff, you gave her a body checkup and touched her private parts during the process Even if you did not break the law, I believe you've violated a doctor's professional conduct Did you intentionally take advantage of her? Objection! I did not. I did not have ulterior motives for her Objection! Do you like Jane Li? Objection! I have never liked Jane Li Objection! Your Honor, the prosecutor is imposing his views on the witness If he keeps answering his own questions, the witness will be rendered superfluous Prosecutor, please mind your questioning style Did you ask Ms Li to have a checkup at your clinic? Mr Winston Zhou, please answer my question She said she did not feel well, so I asked her to have a body checkup at my clinic I was just being kind... That's OK, I was only asking I'm a doctor if you took the initiative This is my profession Perhaps you did not intend to It's my work molest Jane Li I did not But you did all these things only to create an opportunity to get close to her Absolutely not true Finally you made it I did not. I had no desire for her A last question If you are innocent, why should Ms Li ruin your reputation? Tim... Oftentimes, we have intuitions But this time... What's the problem? By going through this trial, the victim has to constantly revisit the incident, with much of her private life exposed To the victim, it's almost a mental torture Many people would have quitted Why do you think Jane Li can persevere? Why? I noticed she had a moment of hesitation When? When you asked Winston Zhou why Jane Li would ruin his reputation. Have you ever doubted if Zhou could be innocent? This time you're not like your usual style Your intuition is totally biased towards Jane Li Don't you want to help her also? Don't you want to find out who's guilty? I don't want you to win a case at your own cost I'm very clear what I'm doing I'm back Barrister Chen? Let's have dinner together Why are you back? Why are they here? Didn't you say you're not coming back tonight? That's why I invited them over for dinner What's wrong? Ms Li, we should minimize our contact during the trial It's not your problem But as the prosecutor, I need to avoid this You want me to pack a doggy bag for you? I'll give you a lift Never mind Thank you We can go back ourselves OK... It's pouring outside Let Megan drive you back Let me help you OK I'll start the car first Wait here a little bit Come down in ten minutes I'll go first OK I'm sorry to disappoint you... I just want what's best for you Oh, the car keys! I'll give them to her Please have a word with her She's under a lot of pressure. Please This is for you Thanks The one last time... Is it still here? It's in my briefcase Put the two together They will give you blessings Do you know? Your perseverance is very important in this case If we win the case, what will happen to me? The criminal will be punished by law How about me? What will happen? Of course, you can live the life you want But in fact, my original life... is not what I want either I don't want to be stuck in the room in the shop I wish I could be like you guys and could see the real world outside Sergeant Li found me Jane's hospital records when she broke her legs in an accident I also investigated the orphanage where she stayed I suspect she changed her name but I'm not sure What does it have to do with this case? Jane Li never talks about her past I'm afraid Xue might challenge her integrity I'll take a look There's another thing I want to say Go ahead I think Jane Li has somehow indicated to Zhou that she totally trusted him That's why he suggested the checkup Zhou was like you right now, always protecting Jane Li's interests Thank you for your intuition But that's all speculation on your part Closing Submissions "Are you the light that shines into darkness, offering rebirth through pain?" "Will you be my guardian angel?" Your Honor, in this case, Mr Zhou was Ms Li's employer and doctor And yet he still indecently assaulted her He had obviously abused her trust in him During the course of this trial, it's beyond doubt Mr Zhou had affection for Ms Li Being alone together under these circumstances, and with the physical contacts during the checkup, it's quite likely the defendant had violated Ms Li As a result of this trial, Ms Li had to undergo huge media pressure And yet she persisted in her charges not in search of compensation or profit, but for the sole intention to uphold the integrity of a disabled woman I hereby request Your Honor to find the defendant guilty as charged Thank you Your Honor, this case is simply a case of misunderstanding Ms Jane Li is socially inexperienced and physically impaired She was unfamiliar with the normal procedure of a body checkup and mistook the defendant's goodwill... for indecent assault In fact, the defendant is a professional doctor He was only doing his job However, this case has ruined the defendant's reputation, having brought tremendous blow to his family I believe Your Honor is crystal clear that throughout the course of this trial, neither police findings nor witnesses' testimonies can attest to the fact that the defendant did in fact indecently assault Ms Li The defendant must have the benefit of the doubt I request Your Honor to find the defendant not guilty Will the defendant please rise? Upon consideration of the evidence submitted and the closing arguments of both sides the Court is convinced the defendant's hand did touch the plaintiff's sensitive area The question boils down to who was active and who was passive The Court agrees that the evidence provided by the Prosecution proves the defendant indecently assaulted Ms Li He being her employer and doctor still conducted such a vile act was clearly a breach of her trust The Court finds the defendant guilty as charged He shall be remanded in prison immediately pending a psychiatric assessment before sentencing Court! Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, Tina, happy birthday! Make a wish I wish daddy will come back soon He will be back soon The report on Jane Li's name change I read it today You read it after the trial? Have I made a mistake? I don't know The goal of the law is to protect people, right? Right To protect people Not only to determine who is right and who is wrong Also to protect people from being hurt You mean if Jane Li had lost, she would have been deeply hurt Dr Zhou might also be seriously hurt Have you thought about it? Did you make all these origami roses? Yes Is that your handwriting? Did you write on the roses you gave Zhou? What did you write? Don't touch! "Dr Zhou, I've been missing your smiles" Look at me... You look at me! As a matter of fact, you're in love with Winston Zhou, right? Frankly speaking, did Winston Zhou molest you? You must believe me You have to believe me Hello? Speaking Dad... We didn't expect he would depart so suddenly But it was a peaceful departure These are his relicts I really hated your guts Since I was little, you'd told me... a good lawyer... should uphold justice I've believed you and have taken you as my role model But did you accomplish that? You didn't! Because of you, I've been trying all along... to find the answer for justice, to prove to you that the woman who died because of you in that case you had taken... was your fault! But at this moment, I hate myself even more I can give other people a chance to explain, but... I never gave you even a single chance Did you have any predicaments? Because now I realize I'm just how you had been. Dad, can you tell me? How's Tina? Not bad I'm looking for a new school for her You think she will know? From the get-go till now, she's never asked a single question Are you really appealing? Will you support me? I will We will support you But... can the case really be overturned? I'm really innocent Tina and I are innocent too You support me because of this family or you really believe me? "Jaywalking Girl Knocked down by Mini Bus" Upon consideration of the new evidence submitted, the Court agrees to reopen the case for the interest of justice What happened? Your car broke down? Let me have a look You haven't tuned your car for a while? You car is dead Better call a tow truck Hey Are you in a hurry? I can give you a lift I'm good By the way, do you believe Winston Zhou? What? You think that matters? You don't have a conscience? Why are you so nave? You were once a defense counsel too You had to believe it every time you sought justice for your clients? I just want to know the truth Do you really know the rules of the game, huh? Who do you think you are? You think you can save the world by assuming moral high ground? Let me tell you You won last time not because you were good You were simply aided by social bias You know what? Your biggest error is not your moral high ground but the fact that you're in the wrong field You want the truth? During the course of the trial, you were seen maintaining regular private contacts with Jane Li On the night before the closing arguments, you even visited her in the piano shop A prosecutor cannot contact the victim privately I don't know how intimate you are with Jane Li But it was around midnigh, I don't think you went to the piano shop to take piano lessons! Take care Court! Your Honor, over the past year, Ms Li has been giving origami roses to the accused, Dr Zhou. She even wrote messages on the folded paper Please examine Exhibit D16. It is clearly written on the paper "You smiled at me 5 times today" Now Exhibit D17 She wrote on another folder paper "Have you used the same water cup I used at your place?" Ms Li, please confirm whether it's your handwriting or not Yes So were you in love with Dr Zhou? No So who did you take Dr Zhou for? A student's father Would you write such sweet nothings to a student's father? Would you sent flowers with innuendos to a student's father? Whether you admit it or not, these roses betrayed your affection for Dr Zhou But that doesn't mean the affection was reciprocal In fact, on the day of the body checkup, Dr Zhou rejected your manifestation of love You were so embarrassed that you turned around and accused the defendant! Objection! Am I correct? Objection! The question is leading Objection overruled No No further questions Ms Li to like someone doesn't mean he can molest you, right? What is the chance of our appeal? Depends on how much you could sacrifice What do you mean? The truth about you and Jane Li Dr Zhou, How did you deal with Ms Li's affection for you? Why didn't you tell your wife? I didn't take it seriously I couldn't stop her from liking me I didn't tell my wife as I did not think it would affect our relationship Mr Zhou, does a woman without sexual experience need to have lower body checkup so soon? Many young women have similar checkup There's nothing wrong Your Honor, there are many kinds of gynecological checkup Mr Zhou invited Ms Li to his clinic for body checkup... Objection! There's no specific timing regarding when a woman should take a body checkup The Prosecution's question is argumentative Objection sustained Please proceed Your Honor, the Defense calls Qian Liu as its 4th witness The one subpoenaed, right? Yes I, Qian Liu, honestly swear and affirm that the evidence I give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth Ms Liu Are you Jane Liu's biological mother? Yes When did you send her to the orphanage? When she was ten Why when she was ten? Did something happen? I used to rely on my mother to take care of her Then my mother died I tried to take care of her myself but I simply could not do it How about Jane Li's father? You don't know where he was? Or you don't know who he was? When I was pregnant with her, I was but 18 I was too young, too nave I was reckless, so I wasn't sure Do you know she had an accident after you sent her to the orphanage? I do Please describe the accident The orphanage said she was assaulted Her legs were hurt during her escape You mean sexually assaulted? Yes Did Jane Li tell you who raped her? The dean told me It was a male nurse Did anyone call the police? As far as I know, they didn't. Supposedly the male nurse had left After this incident, did you find Jane Li to be any different? I heard from the orphanage that she was scared of men Your Honor, I have a psychiatric report of Jane Li conducted after her incident The report clearly stated that the assault brought fear and insecurity to Ms Li It'd create difficulty when she interacts with the opposite sex During intimate contact, it could trigger her earlier trauma and evoke a feeling of sexual assault This report also mentioned that Jane Li had a low self-esteem She lacked confidence She yearned and feared of intimacy at the same time Therefore, the men she has met did not actually assault her But what once happened to her would create faux feelings for her She is unable to determine what is real and what is not Ms Liu... I'd like to ask you After your daughter had been assaulted, did she receive any checkup that would alleviate her fear? There's none that I know of. Never? Did she still live in the orphanage afterwards? When she's 18, she left the orphanage I've never heard from her again He did not violate me at all He did not violate me at all The Prosecution has no questions for the witness The Prosecution wishes to call Ms Jane Li for supplementary testimony Objection! The Prosecution has rested already The prosecutor should be experienced enough to know his request is contrary to normal legal proceedings I understand But the testimony provided by Ms Liu about Ms Li's experience in the orphanage and her mental state are all hearsay Isn't it better to ask Ms Li directly? I thus request Your Honor to use your discretion to let the Prosecution call Ms Jane Li to shed light on the truth of the events Your Honor... All right, I agree for now Ms Liu, you can step down Ms Li, based on Ms Liu's descriptions just now, I would like to ask if you were sexually assaulted by a male nurse at the orphanage I'll ask you one more time Is it true a male nurse sexually assaulted you at the orphanage? Given enough time, doesn't a lie... become the truth? But in reality, is it true or not? Nurse Yip did not assault me at all It's her man who raped me. You are referring to? That night... her man entered my room He whispered in my ears that he loved me very much and began to kiss me I thought he loved me Then he began to touch my breasts I kept crying I said no to him and then I felt an intense pain I told him it hurt, it hurt... It hurt so much...no! I saw my mother standing at the door... looking at me Why didn't you help me? Why didn't you help me? Why could the man stay after this vile act? Why should I be punished? Why? Sorry...Sorry! Mom didn't want this happen too Why? To protect you, I sent you to the orphanage No more excuses! It's true! Don't say you were protecting me! Sorry You simply didn't want me! I had to face it myself while you and that man lived as if nothing had happened Also... why can't I accuse anyone of sexually assault? Because you said I could not feel it! True I really couldn't feel anything I want to feel it too! I want to feel it like you all! I also want to walk! Why can't I do that? Why can you live a normal life? Why can't I? Why can you all lie and find excuses? Why can't I? Why can you find love but not I? I'm always alone! Why am I deprived of love? This is Ms Li's medical report that year After the accident, she's hospitalized for a year She was first diagnozed with general paralysis But after continuous efforts, she finally managed to move her upper body Then she continued to exercise her legs But one day the doctor told her to give up hope Who could truly understand the psychological trauma she had gone through? Abandoned by her family, Jane Li did not only lose a pair of legs but her hope for the future She has persevered till today I am very much convinced, as long as everybody, including herself who can give herself a chance, she will definitely see her future Mr Xue, any further questions? "Private and Confidential" Your Honor, I have no further questions I'm sorry It's not common for attorneys to shake hands, but I'm glad to have met you in this case So am I "Live life without regrets" |
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