Few months ago, I went online to lodge a police report about a case that has been pending for a very long time. That was before I left for Borneo, and since then I started in my new job and essentially did not wish to proceed on due to some factors.
However, last Friday, the police officer called me, asking me about the report I made. He said in order to proceed investigations, he would advise two courses of actions, one to take out a civil suit, which means I would need to engage a lawyer and go through the entire paperwork leading to the trial, or else proceed with a criminal suit, in which case the perpetrator would be taught a lesson.
Either way does not sound tempting to me. If I proceed with a civil suit, I am spending money for nothing, even though there is a strong case. But at the end the perpetrator will only need to pay me monetary damages, but there is no guarantee the case would be stopped after that. But if the perpetrator has no money to pay me, what then? Even if there is injunction, the court is not so free to monitor when the money is being paid, and if I am to sue for non-payment, I would have to pump in more time and money to go through a trial again.
If I take out a criminal suit, which is the more preferable way as that would also be a strong case, then it is a likely jail term. But if a person goes to jail, it is the end of the road, as he will always have a record as a prisoner. He will then never be able to find another job, or even if he could, he would not be able to rise up in his career into roles of responsibility. And that is not including how his family members would feel.
Personally I would never send someone to jail because the punishment is just too much. It is not just the own person, but the whole family who would be involved and labelled. I do not wish to be the one responsible for destroying an entire family.
On the other hand, what other ways can we get a perpetrator to stop the wrongful things he is doing? I lodged a police report because I was at my wit's end, but do I really want to be the one sending him to jail? I will never be able to live with my own conscience, but if things blow out of proportion and more people get involved, then it is not good as well. I would not want others to be in any forms of unwanted situations through no fault of their own.
The officer gave me some time to think about what I wanted to do, and he said he would call me back this week to sound me out. If I do intend to go the criminal way, then I would need to go down and make a formal signed statement, and then they can start investigating, otherwise I would have to go find my own lawyer.
If only I have an answer to what I should do!
However, last Friday, the police officer called me, asking me about the report I made. He said in order to proceed investigations, he would advise two courses of actions, one to take out a civil suit, which means I would need to engage a lawyer and go through the entire paperwork leading to the trial, or else proceed with a criminal suit, in which case the perpetrator would be taught a lesson.
Either way does not sound tempting to me. If I proceed with a civil suit, I am spending money for nothing, even though there is a strong case. But at the end the perpetrator will only need to pay me monetary damages, but there is no guarantee the case would be stopped after that. But if the perpetrator has no money to pay me, what then? Even if there is injunction, the court is not so free to monitor when the money is being paid, and if I am to sue for non-payment, I would have to pump in more time and money to go through a trial again.
If I take out a criminal suit, which is the more preferable way as that would also be a strong case, then it is a likely jail term. But if a person goes to jail, it is the end of the road, as he will always have a record as a prisoner. He will then never be able to find another job, or even if he could, he would not be able to rise up in his career into roles of responsibility. And that is not including how his family members would feel.
Personally I would never send someone to jail because the punishment is just too much. It is not just the own person, but the whole family who would be involved and labelled. I do not wish to be the one responsible for destroying an entire family.
On the other hand, what other ways can we get a perpetrator to stop the wrongful things he is doing? I lodged a police report because I was at my wit's end, but do I really want to be the one sending him to jail? I will never be able to live with my own conscience, but if things blow out of proportion and more people get involved, then it is not good as well. I would not want others to be in any forms of unwanted situations through no fault of their own.
The officer gave me some time to think about what I wanted to do, and he said he would call me back this week to sound me out. If I do intend to go the criminal way, then I would need to go down and make a formal signed statement, and then they can start investigating, otherwise I would have to go find my own lawyer.
If only I have an answer to what I should do!
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