The Trial
Andy felt his heart thumping as the policeman led him to the courtroom. He looked for his family and saw them sitting in the second row. The policeman told him to stand in the dock with the other accused, his friend Beng Lee. When he was in the dock. Andy felt that everyone in the room was staring at him. The judge walked into the courtroom, and everyone stood up. Soon, the proceedings started. Andy and Beng Lee were charged with shoplifting. They were caught trying to leave a department store with a small radio which had not been paid for.
Beng Lee’s lawyer told the judge that it was Andy’s idea to steal the radio. Andy was shocked to hear this. It was, in fact, the other way around. He never thought that Beng Lee. his good friend, would make up such a lie to save himself! Then Andy’s lawyer stood up to address the court. I I e said that it was true that Andy had accompanied Beng Lee to the department store that day. When they passed the counter which displayed the radio. Beng Lee suddenly whispered that he was going to take it and see if they could get away with it. Before Andy had a chance to react or protest, Beng Lee snatched the radio. He also grabbed Andy by the arm and rushed him towards the exit of the store. When they stepped out, the store’s security guard caught them and called the police.
When both lawyers finished addressing the court, the judge studied the papers in front of him before he made a judgment. Some minutes later, which felt more like hours to Andy, the judge announced his decision. He said that Beng Lee had previously been convicted of two other offences of shoplifting. For this offence, he would he fined and sent to a correction school so that he could change his ways. As for Andy, the judge reprimanded him for mixing with bad company. He said that Andy’s school record had been good so far. Since Andy had no previous criminal record, the judge imposed a fine on him, and he would he free. But he had to report to a probation officer once a month to make sure that he would stay out of trouble.
Andy was very relieved to hear this. He did not have to go to jail, and could go home after this terrible ordeal. But when he got home, things were not quite as before. His family seemed somewhat uncomfortable with him. He knew that he had disappointed them by being involved in such a situation. His mother was her usual loving self. She kept reminding him to use this experience as a lesson, and to concentrate on his studies.
But Andy knew that not only his mother, but the whole family loved him. They had given him so much support and hope throughout the ordeal. He realized that he had to be a person of good character to make up for all the trouble he had caused. The court trial was over, but the trial to win back his family’s approval and trust had just begun.
