U Hla Win (a pilot) - Papi Lun and Vin Ko

Chapter (1)

To hell

It must be said that it was a very severe beating from the worldly world. It is true. I had to try for 30 years to get my life back on its feet.

The time was October 26, 1931.

At 8 o'clock in the morning, they brought me out of the cell. This was the cell where I had been for over a year. They made me take a shower. They made me change into new clothes. They were preparing me to look good because it was the day of the verdict in court.

I am 25 years old. But many people still think I am 20. I was escorted from the prison to the court by six police guards. The police treated me well. As soon as I entered the courtroom, they removed the handcuffs from my wrists. They made me sit on a long bench in front of the judge's chair. The six of them surrounded me. The French court. It was the "Seine" court in Paris.

Soon my lawyer arrived. "They don't have any evidence to convict you. Don't worry. They'll release you today."

My lawyer told me, "We... We..." I smiled to myself. "We," he said, "we," so he was a defendant like me. If I were sentenced today, would he be convicted too?

The judging ceremony will begin.

The entire courtroom is painted red. And the red isn't just any red. It's the color of blood. The walls are red, the curtains are red, the carpet is red, the tablecloth is red, even the robes the judges wear today are red.

"All of you, my audience. The trial is about to begin."

Six judges walked onto the stage. The presiding judge took a chair in the middle and sat down. After he sat down, the others took their places. The entire courtroom was silent. Not a sound was heard, and all the guests were standing. I was also standing. After all six judges had sat down, we sat down together.

The chairman's face was very plump. His skin was red and his eyes had a cold look. His name was "Veep." As soon as I sat down in his chair, he looked at me.

The name of the person who did the deed was “Pradal.” Every defense attorney was afraid of him. He was good at talking, he was good at walking, and because of him, many people were beheaded in the beheading machine and many were sent to other islands, they said.

Pradel is not a man of humanity or kindness. His duty is to administer justice, but he does not care whether the law is right or wrong. He believes that the judge must make every defendant who comes to his court punishable. He looks at me from the stage. His gaze clearly shows how he will punish me. Looking at the new clothes that the police have given me this morning, he seems to be saying, “I will punish the defendant who dares to come to court in new clothes.” The police seem to have made me appear in front of them like this.

It's (10) o'clock in the morning.

There were 12 (12) jury members. The defense attorney looked at each of the jurors' faces, told them what crime I had committed, presented each piece of evidence, and concluded by demanding that I be sentenced to death or at least to life in prison.

My case involved the murder of a police informant from our underworld. There was no evidence. The police blindly accused me of being the perpetrator. “We don’t have any hard evidence to present to the court, but according to the secret information, this guy committed the murder,” I told the judge. A hired witness was called to testify in court that I had witnessed the murder.

I repeatedly told the judge, "I've never seen this witness in my entire life." I couldn't.

"Why would he come to testify in court without actually seeing you? He's not your enemy, is he?"

"That's right. He and I have no animosity. Your Honor. This witness was either paid by the police to come to the office, or this witness has committed a crime before and is afraid of being arrested by the police, so he has come to testify in my case as the police have ordered. He has never seen me before."

In fact, my guesses were bloody accurate. Later, I remembered that this witness was a drug addict and had been arrested several times for drug offenses. He said that he had been convicted of a drug offense shortly after my trial.

My lawyer defended me with all his might. But the government prosecutor (or prosecutor) did not find a way to get me out. Whatever he presented, the prosecutor skillfully dismissed and minimized.

That day, the argument in court about whether to sentence me lasted until 11:00 p.m. That's right. Even at 11:00 p.m.

"Defendant, stand up."

It was the presiding judge's command. I stood up. The entire courtroom was silent. Not even a deep breath could be heard. The entire jury was staring at me. Some of the faces looked embarrassed.

"Defendant Papillon, the entire jury finds you guilty. I sentence you to life in prison. Do you have anything to present to the court?"

I became very angry.

My whole body was shaking. I had not committed any crime. I had never even seen the victim of the murder. They all knew this. Why was this unjust punishment imposed on me? I could not bear it anymore. I shouted at the judge and jury in the courtroom. I also condemned the brutality of the French justice system to the point where everyone could not hear.

"Police, please take the suspect away."

The police guards surrounded my body and led me outside the office. When I reached the office door, I turned back to the judge and said,

"Chairman, we'll see you soon. I'll somehow get back to where you are. I'll take care of your injustice."

My comrades from the underworld in the courtroom cheered me on. They all knew my courage. They also understood the injustice of the case. Although I was wrongly accused, I never exposed or betrayed any of my comrades from the underworld to ease their punishment or gain favor with the police. They will all remain proud of my steely determination.

We've reached the outside of the office.

One policeman handcuffed me. The other put iron shackles on both my legs. Twelve armed policemen were waiting for me at the entrance to the office stairs to take me to prison.

I was ordered to get into the police van. “Drive straight to the prison,” the sergeant, the leader of the 12 police guards, ordered.

They were already headed towards the prison.