son, brother, soldier

it was coincidental that my previous entry was written days prior to the news published in the main papers. our words echoed the same mercy. it concerned the sentence melted out on the serviceman who took a rifle out of camp and intended to use it to attack his girlfriend and others. i don't know if any more severe strokes of the cane are going to 'help' him; already a damaged victim himself from years of domestic abuse and acute rejection within his own family, traced from childhood. all the people dave ever felt close to have either left him or passed away. a poignant account stated how he kept a picture of his younger brother, (whom he was close to but was killed in a road accident when they were children), inside his camp cupboard throughout his depression. sadly, not a single kin appeared in court to lend support to him. dave teo remained a lone soul till the end. he seemed to yearn for connection to the irrevocable loss sustained from childhood. i shall not speculate anymore.
The sentence was too harsh and could have been lighter in view of other mitigating or humane reasons even though the possession of live arms is itself a serious crime. the rare words spoken by the courts hold meaning beyond the prison...the same if not adapted version of what is found in scripture...justice tempered by mercy, if only and possibly healed, with words.

"My heart hurts for you that so young a man will have to spend some of the best years of his life in prison and have to understand so many strokes of the cane, but i trust you understand a deterrent sentence is unavoidable in the circumstances.

dave, you have had a very hard life. i hope that this unfortunate and traumatic wrong turn in your life will make you much more mature and a whole lot wiser and that you will spend the next few years reconstructing your young life. I hope that you will pursue your studies, listen to good advice from counsellors and learn many skills while in prison and that, upon your release, you will have a life full of meaning and purpose to honour the memory of your grandmother and your beloved younger brother.

it has been written ' To everything there is a season.' There was a time when you loved, and there was a time when you hated. There was a time when you felt you wanted to kill, now is the time for you to heal. There was a time when you were broken down, now is the time to build yourself up. There was a time when you were at war in your being, now is the time to restore peace within."