It's amazing how quickly a law firm can change its mind sometimes. David Grant, superintendent of crime in the Yau Tsim district, tells us a reputable legal practice was recently besieging one particular Hong Kong police station with an array of visits and telephone calls.
They demanded that their client, best described as a colourful business identity who was assisting police with their inquiries, be released from detention forthwith.
Failure to do so would result in various types of action: you know the types of things - writs of habeas corpus, complaints to various authorities, letters to Saddam Hussein, etcetera, etcetera.
Then, later on the same day, a subsequent phone call from the very same law firm adopted a considerably more conciliatory approach.
All of a sudden, the firm wanted to know if the station could see fit to slightly delay the impending release of their very same client.
It turns out there was a logical reason for the firm's sudden change of heart: our colourful businessman hadn't paid a rather large legal bill.