Skip to main content

如果命運有得揀,又邊會有人想犯法?

最近有單新聞,話品學兼優少女賣翻版手機殼罪成候刑。十幾歲女學生屋企靠綜緩生活,我見猶憐,令人反思香港執法機關以至律政司處事係咪太過不近人情。

當然毒果新聞渲染成風不在話下,但令我耿耿於懷嘅從來都係犯案者本身值得可憐之處。如果命運有得揀,冇人會願意犯法而被判罪。本身被審判嘅人都係社會上嘅弱者,就算權貴下獄,都係佢失勢嘅時候。當年讀刑法,略讀過好多殺人放火嘅案件。每一個人犯法,都有其可憐之處,就算係殺人放火,好多時都係佢一時鬼迷心竅導致,又或者佢反社會人格,不過天生有性格缺陷又有得揀架咩。當年每讀到 mens rea (「犯罪意識」,又或者可譯做「惡念」)嘅概念,就覺得周身唔自在,究竟法律憑咩去話一個人心存惡念,所以理應受罰?撫心自問如果自己身處罪犯同樣嘅情境,我會唔會以身試法,真係好難講。普通法講 mens rea,話係懲罰奸惡。但究竟我哋係定係懲罰定係不幸嘅人,我真係唔知。我唔係唔相信自由意志,唔係唔相信人要為自己嘅行為負責,但人總有意志薄弱嘅時候,總有不能自控嘅時候,例如大家慣咗上臉書,未必可以輕易控制自己唔用臉書一樣。

講得有啲遠,總之罪犯之流,大多數都係草根出身,背後多悲情故事,點止係一個所謂品學兼優嘅女學生。愛就係選擇,選擇就係捨棄。一個女學生賣賣翻版手機殼搞到要打官司留案底固然可憐,但每日喺法院出出入入嘅人,大部份都有佢哋嘅苦衷,有佢哋嘅故事,有佢哋嘅無奈。

然而,一個所謂先進社會嘅齒輪,一個以法治為本嘅社會,就係要將呢啲扣人心弦嘅人情,逐一磨蝕。正義女神蒙住眼作出審判,本身就帶有幾分不近人情嘅意味。我哋只可以慨嘆點解個社會變成噉,但難道你又肯喺法律入面明文寫住「品學兼優嘅女學生初犯小過失唔准起訴」咩?到最後,大家都只會猶疑,但又唔肯放棄法治,放棄「法律面前人人平等」嘅假象。所以嘈完幾句,發泄完之後,大家都無奈地好似女神噉樣,閉起雙眼,冇眼睇。


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Trump v. CASA, Inc. et al.

The recent Trump case was one of the most eye-opening and confusing judgments I've read. For context, Trump signed an executive order to re-interpret "birthright" citizenship limiting it to children born in USA by at least one parent with US citizenship. A couple district courts ordered preliminary injunctions against its enforcement. The government eventually argued to the Supreme Court that the preliminary injunctions were too broad in scope. The court with an apparently 6:3 majority decided that the lower courts had no right to award "universal injunctions" beyond the scope of the plaintiffs seeking the injunction. Federal courts' power to issue injunctions apparently stems from the Judiciary Act of 1789, which endowed federal courts with jurisdiction over "all suits... in equity". This is nothing exciting, except that the USSC then declares that the scope of "equity" is basically the jurisdiction of the High Court of Chancery in Engla...

南丫海難唔夠救生衣祭旗案

HKSAR v. SO PING CHI [2018] HKCA 913 我好少睇完上訴庭判詞唔夠喉睇埋原審判詞。真係痴孖根。 泛民議員涂謹申又走出嚟做show扮爭取正義,但事實就係海事處同業界一早有共識,舊船可以延後執行新例。 喺審訊時,新例實施時嘅海事處處長竟然冇出庭作供(起碼判詞冇提佢),冇人知佢係咪知情;而港九電船拖輪商會嘅主席又「唔記得」幾時同海事處邊啲官員討論過「舊船用舊例」。後嚟海事處執正嚟做,商會仲發起示威,反對執行新例。留意,新例實施日期係 2007 年 1 月 2 號,示威日期係 2013 年 3 月。中間隔咗 6 年。可見喺呢 6 年以嚟 (包括南丫海難發生之後),業界一直都認為舊船唔需要跟新例配備足夠救生衣。呢樣嘢唔只係海事處一個官員嘅行為嚟, 而係根本海事處同業界有共識唔去執法 ! 被告上任嗰陣,好明顯呢個共識已經存在。話佢冇叫停呢個做法,技術上佢的確犯法,但點解得佢一個俾人告?我懷疑係因為佢份人最誠實。 案中證供指出,被告喺出事之後其中一個會議嗰度好誠實咁承認自己俾過下屬咁嘅指示。然後佢就俾人捉咗去祭旗。 至於其他被傳召作供嘅證人,雖然原審話話佢哋誠實可信,但我見到嘅係佢哋喺有啲關鍵地方記憶模糊。法庭話佢哋誠實可信就係誠實可信,我只係話佢哋記性真係幾差咁解。 上訴庭輕判,主要原因都係睇唔過眼。佢哋差在冇講「屌你玩嘢呀?成個海事處都知有咁嘅事,你淨係交一個人俾我,仲要蝦佢老實?唔撚係呀?」(見最後引文) 至於點解冇人喺審訊期間爆其他人大鑊,咁被告的確有叫人唔好執行新例,的確係犯咗法,佢再督多啲人出嚟都唔見得有好處,反而只會喺公務員內部處分俾人玩得更慘烈。而其他人喺關鍵時刻失憶,律政司又未必有足夠證據起訴其他人(或者有 #其他原因 唔起訴啦?),咁咪淨係搵咗個老實人祭旗囉。 原審同上訴庭都一再重申被告品格良好,甚至係「無可挑剔」 "impeccable character",你都明啦。 講真,馬後炮就好易嘅。你睇個商會喺南丫海難出事之後仲可以示威反對嚴格執行新例,就知道未出事嗰陣,邊個夠膽揸正嚟做都係會下場慘淡啦。 最後引返上訴庭判詞原文。祝各位公務員官運亨通,步步高昇!我真係恭喜你哋呀! (話時話,點解報告唔出得街,我堅係唔知,不如你哋又估下點解?) /// 70. However, it is the third fa...

Reconciling apparent inconsistencies within the Basic Law -- what is the proper approach?

What happens when two different pieces of legislation contradict each other? In common law, one could apply the principle of "implied repeal", where the subsequent legislation would be considered to have repealed the earlier one. But the Basic Law has not undergone amendments since its promulgation in 1990, so this does not apply. Another common way to resolve apparent contradictions is to consider that the more general provision be qualified by the more specific one. Yet in cases where fundamental rights are at issue, courts may instead adopt a " generous interpretation ", restricting the scope of those provisions that appear to restrict fundamental rights. Indeed, this was the approach laid out by the Court of Final Appeal in 1999 in Ng Ka Ling : The courts should give a generous interpretation to the provisions in Chapter III that contain these constitutional guarantees in order to give to Hong Kong residents the full measure of fundamental rights and freedoms so...