Chapter 4 — Five Years of Unjust Prison

I don't know who in the audience shouted, immediately followed by a series of suppressed voices. The comment was filled with the words "support" across the screen. To Van just in time looked towards me with complicated eyes:
"Junior brother, teachers have put in a lot of effort. Sometimes, a little temporary personal resentment is to achieve a greater map. You should try to understand this vision."
My stomach suddenly felt a sharp pain. It was due to fear and pressure for several days in a row. His forehead was dripping with sweat, his eyes were a little dark. Finally, my father stood up and said as firmly as if he were cutting iron:
"The defendant has no intention of repenting, the level of social harm is extremely large. We, as representative lawyers and guardians, implore the court to sentence the defendant to more than ten years in fixed-term prison, to regulate legal discipline!"
My mother also turned to the judge, her voice a little softer:
"Plaintiff To Van thought about her old love, even though her body and mind were hurt, she still voluntarily gave up all civil compensation claims. Her noble character, compared to the defendant's behavior, is truly a world apart."
My stomach hurt even more, almost cramping. I bit hard on the inner wall of my mouth before reluctantly maintaining my sitting position. The whole court is waiting for the judge to bring down the gavel and clean up the trash that is me. I put my hands on the table and slowly stood up:
“Chairman, I deny all allegations.”
“I would like to call my witnesses.”
A trace of surprise flashed across my parents' and To Van's faces, which quickly turned into contempt. Perhaps they felt that at best I could only find a few unimportant people to come. Until the witness entered the courtroom. Their faces immediately changed. The door on the side of the courthouse was pushed open. The person who entered was a man over sixty years old with gray hair. He was wearing an old faded coat, and in his hand was carrying a heavily worn briefcase. The audience seats stirred for a moment. Livestream comments quickly scrolled: “Who is that?” "Witness? Looks like a rural worker." My parents' faces immediately turned pale. To Van suddenly stood up from the plaintiff's chair, but was pushed down by the police next to him.
“Please take the witness stand.” The chairman said.
The man walked to the witness chair, did not look at my parents, nor did he look at To Van. He bowed to the chairman first, then took out a stack of yellowed documents from his briefcase.
“My name is Trieu Kien Quoc.” His voice was a bit hoarse. "I used to be deputy head of the Technical Inspection Center of the City Procuracy. Five years ago I retired early."
My dad's hands started shaking. My mother unconsciously grabbed the edge of the table.
“Five years ago, I received a special mission.” Trieu Kien Quoc opened the first document. "At that time, To Van was still an assistant prosecutor, submitting a thesis related to an important case, which cited judicial data that had not been made public."
"The leadership asked me to verify whether the source of this data is in compliance with regulations or not."
He raised his head, his eyes swept over the plaintiff's chair: "I spent three days confirming that the data came from the internal security database. The access history shows that the operating device is To Van's office computer." To Van's face no longer had any blood left.
“But the night before I was due to submit my report.” Trieu Kien Quoc paused. “Lawyer Co Vien Chau is looking for it to me.”
My father suddenly stood up: “Objection! Witnesses…”
“Let him finish.” The chairman banged his gavel.
Trieu Kien Quoc pulled out a photo from the document: "This is what lawyer Co gave me at that time. An envelope, inside was two hundred thousand in cash, and a transfer document for my son's tuition fees to study abroad in the US." The sound of cold air was heard in the building. Livestream comments exploded:
“Oh my god! The evidence is real!”
“What a bribe!”
“Lawyer Co said, I just need to change a few words.” Trieu Kien Quoc's voice was very calm. “Change 'access from To Van's office device' to 'intrusion from external IP of unknown origin, relayed through Co Tram's personal computer'."
He looked at me: "I once met that boy, sixteen years old, who had just passed the Kinh Dai exam. I asked lawyer Co, are you sure you want to treat your son like that?"
“He said: ‘For reputation, this is the optimal solution.’”
Optimal plan. These three words pierced my heart like a knife. Turns out they say the same thing to outsiders. Trieu Kien Quoc continued: “I refused. But the next day, my direct leader personally came to talk to me, saying that the superiors had instructions for this case, telling me to issue a report according to the version provided by lawyer Co.
“I asked him, what about the other child?”
“The leader said: 'You're a minor, just go to jail for a few years and you'll be out. Lawyer Co's reputation is more important.’”
The audience seats were silent. Even the livestream comments stopped for a few seconds. Trieu Kien Quoc flipped from the bottom a copy of the handwritten diary: “This is my note at that time. Every detail, every conversation, including lawyer Co saying 'my son's personality is stubborn, it's good to hone in there'."