THIRTEEN months after he was first abducted from Macau and imprisoned by Shenzhen authorities, Australian businessman James Peng has been tried - and sent back to prison for a further six weeks to await a verdict. That in itself is very rough justice at the hands of China's judicial system.
But illegal arrest and detention without trial are not the worst of China's behaviour towards Peng. The rule of law has been severely tested by the manner in which the charges were brought and then altered to suit the whim of the Shenzhen authorities. The original case against Peng, which took 10 months to put together, was thrown out by the Intermediate People's Court in Shenzhen. The prosecution was instructed to find more evidence.
In any reliable system of justice, lack of evidence would lead to acquittal. But this court effectively gave the authorities leave to try a man twice for the same offence - contrary to what common law legal systems consider acceptable.
Worse, when the prosecution came back, it did not bring more evidence, but claimed new alleged offences, as if recognising it did not have a case with the first charge.
