Amina Mariam Bokhary confessed last week to assaulting a Hong Kong police officer. It was the third time she had been in court for the same type of offence; she also assaulted police officers in 2002 and 2008. Here are a few more facts about 'Belter' Bokhary: she has never been jailed for her serial attacks on Hong Kong's finest; her latest attack followed a traffic accident, in which she was driving, appa-rently, under the influence of alcohol; and she is the niece of Court of Final Appeal judge Mr Justice Kemal Bokhary. And, allegedly, she is bipolar, a claim Hong Kong became aware of through her expensive barrister, Peter Duncan SC.
Duncan also told the court that Ms Belter was 'deeply ashamed', legalese, perhaps, for 'scared witless that she's going to get banged up this time'. Imagine if Bokhary were a factory worker or a waitress; does anyone really suppose she would still be a virgin with regard to jail time?
Bokhary will receive her sentence on August 2. If Hong Kong is to avoid bolstering its reputation for being a place where there is one rule for the rich and another for everybody else, the prison service should be given a chance to help Bokhary cure her bad habits. And incarceration for Bokhary might make the city's police officers feel just a little bit safer. After all, we wouldn't want our police force to think there's a segment of the population who can assault them with impunity.
