Thursday, May 1, 2008

The acquittal of a secondary school teacher from charges of molestation of students was in the news today. I remember reading about the case when it first came up, which was a long time ago. His entire ordeal lasted three years, as he appealed against his original conviction. I remember thinking "what a horrible teacher". Perhaps one too many molest cases had coloured my vision. I was quick to judge him, and forgot that everyone is innocent till proven guilty. And as this case has taught me, even when proven guilty someone can still eventually be proven innocent. The court simply judges whether there there is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that someone is guilty, and this is certainly fallible. He may actually be guilty, but that is not the issue. As a member of the public, I should not discriminate against such people.

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