Trabbian Justice

The drive to the town of Mongha took only about 10 minutes. The American women rode in silence, too stunned to speak. The van pulled around the back of the police station, where the officers escorted them inside and down a hallway to a conference room with a table and a number of chairs. The officers removed the handcuffs and the sergeant told the women to sit down. Then they left, locking the door, leaving the students and Professor Gelden alone.

As soon as the door closed, Susan took charge. "The first thing we need to do is find out if we are entitled to a lawyer here. They may not have the same idea of rights as we do, but I think we need to find out. And I don't think we should say a word until we have spoken with our lawyer, because I am sure they will use anything we say against us. Is everyone agreed?" The students all nodded their assent. Priya was glad her professor was such a smart woman.

A few minutes later, they heard a key turning in the door and two men wearing civilian clothes walked in. One appeared to be around 40, though age was often hard to tell with Trabbians, while the other was somewhat younger. The younger one spoke first, "I am Baran, from the prosecutor's office and this is Detective Puno. We would like to discuss your situation with you.

The students looked at Professor Gelden, deferring to her to be their spokesperson. "Do we have a right in your country to have an attorney present during questioning to represent us?"

Baran smiled, "Of course, Dr. Gelden, we are a modern, civilized country, just like yours. We will be happy to provide a local attorney to represent you. There is an excellent defense attorney named Sata whose office is close by. We will of course defer any discussion of your case until you have had a chance to speak with her. While you are waiting for her, would you like some tea? Perhaps some biscuits as well?"

"Yes," Susan replied, "That would be nice. We'd also like some clothes; it's a bit strange sitting here in our bathing suits." Priya was cheered that these police seemed much nicer than the ones who had arrested them.

"I will be back shortly," Baran assured them, and he did indeed return a few minutes later with a tray containing four glasses of very strong tea and a plate of very nice looking cookies, along with jail-issue T shirts and shorts for each of the women. "Please enjoy, ladies, I am sure Sata will be here very soon."

The women slid the shirts and shorts over their bathing suits and had their tea and cookies. Soon, there was a knock at the door and the detective got up to open it, admitting a very attractive woman with long black hair, wearing a flowered sun dress and sandals and carrying a briefcase.

Baran rose to greet her. She shook his hand and then introduced herself to each of the American women. Once the preliminaries were over, she told the prosecutor that she needed to discuss with her clients. He and the detective excused themselves.

Sata had the women tell their story from the beginning-the invitation issued to Susan, the work at the archaeological site, their visit to the Punishment Center and the details of their ill-fated escapade. She took a few pages worth of notes and stopped frequently to ask questions. Her demeanor suggested she was a capable and diligent attorney, very familiar with the local laws and ways of doing business.

Once she was clear on everything that had occurred, she said, "The first priority is the video. If it's very poor quality, we may be able to convince a jury that they can't be sure who is on the video or where or when it was shot. Let's take a look at it."

She knocked at the door and when Detective Puno opened it, she had a short conversation with him. A few minutes later he returned with a flash drive which he plugged into a port attached to a video screen on the wall and handed the attorney a remote control. "Happy viewing ladies," Puno told them.

Unfortunately, their viewing was anything but happy. Priya's heart sank as the video played, clearly showing the women on the beach. Their faces were unmistakable as were the beer bottles. "There is no question they can prove trespassing," the attorney told the women.

"But, I spoke with Thura, who is our host at our camp, and he said that many people bathed there," Susan protested.

"Did he say it was forbidden?" the lawyer asked.

"Well, yes," Susan replied, "But he said it was OK."

"Legally that isn't a good argument, I'm afraid," Sata replied. Priya's heart sank. This was looking very bad.

"And the beer is another problem," she continued. "Both the theft and the underage. All in all, the chances of you winning at trial are virtually zero, I'm afraid." Priya felt like she was going to cry.

"So, where does that leave us?" Susan asked the lawyer.

"All I can do is try to negotiate the best deal I can on a sentence," Sata told them. Priya felt her stomach churning.

"Sentence? Like we have to go to jail here?" Jennifer asked, seeming stunned.

"Well," the lawyer responded, the three of you are looking at two offenses. Trespassing has a maximum of 3 months and 8 strokes of the cane and underage drinking has 3 months and 12 strokes. So, you could be looking at 6 months and 20 strokes."

The students were too stunned to speak. "Of course, that's the maximum, and as first offenders, I'm sure I can get somewhat less than that. Susan, your case is a bit more difficult since you are looking at three offenses: trespassing, of course; providing alcohol to minors and the theft of the beer. I will, of course, do my best for you as well."

"Somewhat less than that?" Priya responded. "Somewhat? What does that mean?" Her heart was pounding in her chest.

"Well, that's where having someone like me on your side is important. I have settled many cases with Baran and his boss, the Chief Prosecutor, Mela. I will do the best that I can."

"So, are you saying that they will cane us?" Jennifer asked.

Sata smiled enigmatically. "I will do the best I can, but I cannot make promises right now." Priya knew that the answer was almost certainly yes, that they would be caned, just like those two students they had seen the other day. The odds of escaping it looked very slim, at best. The only question was how many.

Sarah, who up to now had managed to restrain herself, couldn't hold back her temper any longer, "Your best? Is that right? Those fuckers screwed us! I licked that fuckin' cop's snatch and they were supposed to let us go. Now we're here and what's going to happen to them?" She looked like she was going to strangle Sata. Jennifer put her hand on her partner's arm to calm her.

The Trabbian lawyer didn't seem too distressed by the outburst. "I understand Sarah, it doesn't seem fair to you," Sata told the angry young woman, "But there are several problems. First, they have the video and they don't need any testimony from the cops. So discrediting them won't solve your problem. Second, the law in Trabbia makes it a crime to falsely accuse a police officer of misconduct."

"False?" Sarah screamed. "Are you saying we are lying, you bitch?" The other Americans joined in the general outrage.

Sata raised her finger to her lips to shush them. "No, no, no, not at all. I don't doubt your story for a second; I have heard it enough times before. The problem is that if you make an official accusation and can't prove it, then the accusation is considered to have been false and that is a very serious matter, much more than what you are looking at now, perhaps years in jail. And how would you prove your story? The cops will deny it and you are all proven lawbreakers based on the video. Did any of the men ejaculate inside any of you?"

"Yes, one came in my mouth and in one in Priya's," Susan replied. Priya blushed just to hear such words applied to her.

"That doesn't help," the lawyer told them, "The enzymes will have long since digested any DNA. I just don't see how you can prove your case. There is a third problem as well. Suppose you could prove that you did perform sexual favors in exchange for letting you go. That would constitute bribing an officer under Trabbian law, which is an even more serious crime."

"Making a formal complaint against the cops would turn out very badly for you. Believe me on that. My job is to give you the best advice based upon the realities of the situation. And my best advice here is to let me try to make the best deal that I can with the prosecutors. I wish there were a better course, but, really, there is not. "

The three students looked at Susan for some guidance. The older woman looked at each of them in turn and then at Sata. "OK. I don't see that we have much option. Try your best."

The lawyer stood up. "Good," she told her clients. I will go talk to the prosecutors right away. I see it is almost evening. I will make sure they bring you some dinner and let you use the bathroom. In the meantime, don't say anything to the cops. Nothing, except to ask for the toilet, OK?" The women all nodded. Sata got up and hit the button by the door and an officer arrived shortly to let her out.

The women sat in stunned silence after the lawyer left the room. Priya thought about the scene they witnessed at the punishment center and how it would feel to be whipped like those girls had been. It seemed pretty certain that she would be; the only question was how many. The attorney had said they could get up to 20. But those girls had only gotten 8 and their asses were shredded and they were howling in pain. It just didn't seem possible that Priya could take 20.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the door opening. Was the lawyer back already? That seemed much too fast. Perhaps the discussions had not gone well. But, it was only Detective Puno and another cop bringing them dinner. Priya felt far too scared to take any food, but Susan prevailed upon her students to eat so that they could keep their strength up. Priya took her teacher's advice and found that the food was simple, but rather tasty.

Soon after the women had finished, the door opened again. This time it was Sata. She was smiling, which Priya took as a hopeful sign. The women all bombarded her with questions: "How did it go? Can we leave? They aren't really going to cane us, are they?"

The lawyer asked them all for calm. She sat down and began her summary of the meeting: "I must say it went very well. I got a better deal than I had hoped for. Prosecutor Mela must be in a very good mood." Priya allowed herself to feel a dash of hope. Maybe she wouldn't have to suffer the cane after all.

"They are willing to accept no prison time. You go to court tomorrow, plead guilty, get your strokes the next day, a few days to heal enough to travel and you get on a plane for Bangkok and then home. End of story."

Priya's heart sank when she heard, "get your strokes." "But, that means we will be whipped."

"Yes," Sata replied. "Look, the reality is you guys broke the law, and you can't expect to just walk away with nothing. That just isn't going to happen. But it's nowhere as bad as it could have been."

"How many strokes?" Jen asked.

"Frankly, I was very pleased. You three get 8," Sata replied, indicating the students.

Priya gasped. That was what the two Trabbian students had received.

"For you, Susan," she continued, turning to face the older woman, "they see you as having been derelict in your duty to protect your students so there will have to be more. But, after a very hard bargaining, I got it down to 12." The Professor looked stunned.

"What if we tell them to go fuck themselves?" Sarah asked.

Sata looked annoyed at the impertinence. "I don't think you realize what a good deal this is. I would have expected that the prosecutors would have insisted on at least 12 strokes for you guys and maybe 18 or so for Susan. You guys are barely getting half that. The offer is take it or leave it. If you turn it down, you will have to hang around in jail here for a month or so, then there will be a trial, you will be convicted for sure and then you could easily get the maximum or close, maybe 16 or 18 strokes, Sarah. Do you have any idea what that would feel like? Plus prison time quite possibly and I do not think you would enjoy our prisons. For one thing, many disciplinary violations in prison are punished by flogging." Priya shuddered at the thought.

"This is really what you in the States call a no-brainer. Mela and Baran need your answer very soon and all of you must accept it. If they have to go to the trouble of a trial for one or two of you, they will just try the whole lot."

Susan said "It's horrible, but I really don't think we have a choice."

Jen and Priya quickly agreed. Sarah knew she didn't have the stomach to go through such an ordeal alone and knew that she couldn't be responsible for making the others, especially her lover, Jen, suffer, so she went along as well.

"You have made a very wise decision," Sata said. "I'll have the papers drawn up," she added, turning to leave the conference room.

Then she stopped and turned back to speak to the foreign visitors. "There is one additional condition. Mela wants a personal show of gratitude for himself and his team for resolving this so quickly."

"What does that mean?" Jennifer asked, sounding suspicious.

"You will need to pleasure him and a few of his associates. Right here tonight. Then the deal will be signed. This should not be a problem for you, as you have already provided satisfaction for the officers who arrested you, if your story is correct."

"What kind of corrupt operation are they running here, abusing prisoners? Is this acceptable to you?" Priya asked.

"Honestly, I don't see that it's such a big deal, considering what a light sentence you are getting. Anyway, it's non-negotiable. If you won't do it, and do it willingly, then the deal is off and you will be in a very serious situation. That is where you stand. Remember, that you are criminals under our laws, so you don't get to dictate terms."

Susan asked the lawyer, "How do we know they will keep their word? After all, we did what the cops asked and we are here now."

Sata replied, "Those cops are low-level flunkies; once the matter was reported, there was nothing they could do. Mela is chief prosecutor; if he makes a deal that's it. I've done many deals with him and he has always kept his part. All you need to do is do what's asked and satisfy the people involved and everything will be fine. Besides, I will be there to make sure there are no problems."

"You will be there?" Susan asked, somewhat incredulous.

"Yes," Sata answered. "Now, it is time to accept reality and do what is in your best interests. Are you all agreed?" The women all nodded, reluctant, but not seeing any choice. "Good," Sata said, "You are doing the right thing. I will tell them you are agreed and we will get started very shortly."