tim's experiment

I am all for justice being tempered with mercy. The only statement in the Bokhary row that I agreed with was the magistrate’s observation that sending her to prison would ruin the rest of her life. This was probably true of many of the hundreds of people he has sent to prison during his judicial career, but it is nice to see enlightenment dawn, however late. Anyway, I am not by instinct a hanger and flogger, all right?

Still, I am moved to protest by the campaign Jake Van der Kamp has been running in the Sunday Post, to the effect that financial crime should be regarded as trivial, or better still as not really crime at all. I realise that it is common for people in dodgy professions – like salesmen of used cars, double glazing, Oriental carpets or uncompleted Hong Kong flats – to feel that the little tricks they play on the public should be regarded as a bit of harmless fun. But I did not think people in the financial business wished to be considered in that category. Although looking at some of the people they elect to Legco, perhaps they do.

Look, if the events of the last two or three years have taught us anything, it is surely that financial shenanigins have serious consequences. They lead to stagnant economies, bankrupt businesses, lost jobs, wrecked families, ruined lives. The consequences may be out of sight. That does not mean tbey should be out of mind.  Me Van der Kamp argues that financial crimes do not leave “blood on the pavement” so nobody is hurt, and the victims volunteered by swimming in a pool which they knew contained sharks. These attempts at mitigation tell us nothing about whether a crime should be treated seriously or not. “She was not hurt” and “she asked for it” are the two excuses most often offered by rapists and paedophiles.  The people who rob you with a fountain pen are gentlemanly types with nice cars, Jockey Club memberships and friends in the business media. But they’re still robbers.