Chapter 516

For the next few days, Ta Kung Pao, Wen Wei Po, New Evening Post, and Five-Star Daily published various materials on the "September 5th Massacre" every day.

Especially the "Five-Star Daily," which was the most outrageous, printing 1.5 million copies every day and distributing them for free to every household in all districts of Hong Kong.

The printing presses were sparking.

The citizens of Hong Kong once again entered an atmosphere of "the naturally evil Swire Group."

The two malls, Swire City and Swire Plaza, were protested by citizens again, and passenger traffic decreased again.

Cathay Pacific's impact wasn't considered big, because those who should take the plane still had to take the plane. However, Dragonair's San Francisco route ushered in a surge in passengers.

And on the stock market side,

The stocks of Swire's three chariots fell, fell, fell~~~~

Directly fell to -30%.

And it was still falling!

Swire Group was so angry that their hair stood on end.

Merlin directly ordered Peng Lizhi to quickly hold a press conference.

Facing dozens of reporters in the audience,

Peng Lizhi was extremely indignant!

"Dear media friends, citizens, good afternoon!"

"Recently, there has been a lot of talk about the so-called 'September 5th Massacre' false news. Here, on behalf of the Swire Group, I solemnly declare that this is all baseless slander!"

"ATV, 'Five-Star Daily,' and other media are spreading it wantonly. This behavior has seriously misled the public. Our Swire Group has been in Hong Kong for many years and has made positive contributions to Hong Kong's economic development and social construction, but now it is being maliciously smeared repeatedly, which is truly heartbreaking."

"We will immediately file an appeal to the court to prohibit the dissemination of false reports by Asia Television and related parties."

"At the same time, I also call on the general public to remain rational and not be misled by this false information..."

"Oriental Daily" reporter asked: "Why is it an injunction again? Why don't you sue these 5 media outlets?"

Meaning: Hurry up and fight!

Peng Lizhi was serious: "While submitting the injunction application, we have also filed a lawsuit with the court. We will hold these five media outlets accountable for their malicious splashing of dirty water."

Why didn't Swire fight a lawsuit with Guan Zu last time?

Wasn't it because they were afraid of fighting a lawsuit, dragging the matter and public opinion out for too long, which would be unfavorable to the Swire Group?

Now...

Screw it!

High Court, Court of First Instance.

In the Hong Kong High Court, applying for an injunction is usually handled by the Court of First Instance, and Feng Ye is a judge of the Court of First Instance.

Today,

Judge Feng Ye received another "injunction application" from the Swire Group.

In order not to expose that he had become a loyal Five-Star Group employee, he decided not to take this task.

"Mr. Henry (Peng Lizhi), I also want to take this task, but last time I helped you get an injunction, it already made the citizens very disgusted. Although the money is good, I can't do it a second time."

"However, I recommend my colleague, Mr. Neil Kaplan..."

Neil Kaplan (harmony), born in Hong Kong, studied at Diocesan Boys' School, then graduated from Oxford University in the UK. In 1959, he obtained the qualification to practice as a barrister from Gray's Inn in the UK, and in 1960, he obtained the qualification to practice as a barrister in Hong Kong. In July 1970, he was appointed as a Queen's Counsel.

Now he is over 50 years old and has rich experience.

Peng Lizhi: "Thank you, Mr. Feng..."

Mr. Feng: "Very sorry I can't help you..."

Soon,

Feng Ye sent the injunction application materials to his colleague, Judge Neil Kaplan.

"Oh~~ my friend!"

"This case is handed to you."

Then he explained the reason.

When Judge Neil Kaplan heard that it was related to the Swire Group, he knew it was a rich guy, so he was naturally very pleasantly surprised.

"Thank you very much, you are my best friend!"

"That's for sure, but... I also hope to get some benefits from it..."

Feng Ye made a money gesture with his fingers.

Judge Neil Kaplan: "............"

Of course he didn't want to share the money, but thinking that the Swire Group was a rich guy, he shared it; the wool comes from the sheep.

1 hour later,

Swire Group called to invite Judge Neil Kaplan to have fun at the Central Club in the evening.

Judge Neil Kaplan readily agreed.

Noon,

Judge Neil Kaplan took his assistant to have lunch at a French restaurant in Central, escargot, foie gras with bread, French onion soup, steak with fries, beef bourguignon, roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes...

This assistant was his student, who had been by his side for more than ten years and could be considered a confidant.

"Today I took a case..."

Neil Kaplan roughly explained it.

The assistant understood in seconds: "Teacher, I know what to do."

Neil Kaplan nodded with satisfaction.

"Ring ring ring~~~"

At this time, Neil Kaplan's phone rang.

Connected.

"Hello..."

"May I ask if this is Judge Neil Kaplan?"

"I am."

"Hello, I am Wu Lianqian from the Five-Star Group Chairman's Secretariat. I don't know if you are free tonight, our boss Mr. Guan wants to invite you to a meal."

Five-Star Group?

Neil Kaplan sneered.

"I'm sorry, I must clearly inform you that as a judge, I shoulder the sacred duty of upholding judicial justice and independence."

"During the trial period, I will not have any contact with any party to the case or related personnel outside the case to ensure that I will not be interfered with by any external factors. This is not only a requirement of professional ethics but also a defense of the dignity and fairness of the law."

"Please apologize to Mr. Guan on my behalf, thank him for his kindness, but I cannot attend this meal. I hope the Five-Star Group can respect the judicial process and my professional standards."

A series of words, righteous and stern!

Righteous and awe-inspiring!

On the other side of the phone, Wu Lianqian was directly silent.

Among judges, there is still such a righteous one?

Impossible, right?

At least the Swire Group couldn't make such a mistake.

Wu Lianqian said politely: "Thank you very much for Judge Neil Kaplan's justice, looking forward to your just verdict!"

Neil Kaplan: "This is what every judge should do."

Hung up the phone.

The corner of his mouth √!

Heh, this Five-Star Group is really naive, they actually believed it.

The assistant looked up: "Teacher, I heard that this Five-Star Group often hits people, if they know we... will they..."

Neil Kaplan shook his head: "No matter what, we can only help the Swire Group. Remember, we are British, so naturally we have to help the British. And the Five-Star Group... heh..."

The assistant nodded.

The arrogance of the British~~~

Although he is a banana person.

Evening,

Central, Club.

Judge Neil Kaplan, wearing a straight suit and a smile, walked into a luxuriously decorated private room under the guidance of a waiter.

The lights were soft, and the faint aroma of cigars permeated the air.

Peng Lizhi had been waiting here, he stood up to greet him, his face full of enthusiastic smiles.

"Mr. Neil Kaplan, long admired, long admired, being able to gather with you today is truly an honor!" Peng Lizhi reached out and shook Neil Kaplan's hand hard.

Neil Kaplan returned the smile: "Mr. Peng is too polite."

After the two sat down, the waiter quickly served the Macallan 1926 rare whiskey and Cohiba Siglo VI cigars prepared by Peng Lizhi.

Then poured the wine, the amber-like wine flowing in the glass.

Peng Lizhi waved his hand, and the waiter left the private room and closed the door.

In the private room, only the two of them remained.

Peng Lizhi picked up the wine glass and toasted: "For this matter, I have to rely on Mr. Neil Kaplan to spend more effort. Those media outlets are really too much, maliciously smearing our Swire Group, seriously affecting our reputation and stock price."

Neil Kaplan also picked up the wine glass, took a sip, and nodded slightly, "I understand, Mr. Peng. I have a plan for this case, don't worry, I will definitely handle it in a direction favorable to you." In this kind of place, there is no fear of leaking secrets.

Therefore, there is no need to hide or tuck away when speaking.

(Image: Cold War~~)

A flash of satisfaction flashed in Peng Lizhi's eyes, "The judge is indeed a straightforward person!"

Saying that, he took out 2 checks from the briefcase beside him.

One check for 300,000 HKD! (For the superior)

One check for 1 million HKD! (For Neil Kaplan)

"This is a small token, expressing a little bit of our Swire Group's heart."

Neil Kaplan looked at the amount, a smile appearing on his face: "These media outlets, maliciously reporting one by one, I will go through the process as soon as possible, approve the injunction, and let them stop this malicious dissemination."

"Then I wish us a happy cooperation!"

"Happy cooperation!"

!

The two picked up their wine glasses.

Looked at each other and smiled, tilted their heads, and drank the whiskey in the glass in one gulp.

Next...

The two started calling for girls... no, wait, models!

2 hours later,

22:00,

The night was like ink, and the neon lights of Central flickered into a blurred light and shadow in his eyes.

Judge Neil Kaplan, slightly tipsy, walked out of the club.

Outside the club, the assistant had already parked the black Mercedes steadily by the side of the road and quickly got out of the car to open the door for him. Neil Kaplan sat in the back seat, leaned on the soft seat, and closed his eyes to rest.

The car started slowly and merged into the night traffic.

What neither of them knew was that a common gray Volkswagen quietly drove out from the shadows and followed behind the Mercedes car unhurriedly.

After following for a stretch of road,

The gray Volkswagen called out: "Report, there are no cars following around."

On the other side of the phone: "Received."

It was too late, there weren't many cars on the road.

Not long after,

Just as the black Mercedes entered a one-way forest road section with few cars, something happened on the rear section, causing a temporary chaos, and the vehicles stopped one after another.

5 seconds later,

Suddenly, a van in front changed lanes suddenly, causing a slight scrape with the black Mercedes.

A "Screech—" sound of braking broke the silence of the night.

The assistant was startled and hurriedly stopped the car.

Judge Neil Kaplan was awakened from his squinting by this sudden change.

"Bastard, how are you driving?!"

The assistant was full of displeasure and got out of the car to check the situation.

Before they could open their mouths to blame, four men wearing black masks quickly got out of the van.

"What are you doing?"

The assistant was kidnapped in a scream.

Neil Kaplan panicked, and then he was also dragged out of the car.

"Help! He..."

Before he could finish shouting, his mouth was covered, and he was swarmed, tied up, and dragged onto the van.

Soon, the van and the black Mercedes sped away.

20 minutes later,

Shek O Mountain Road is winding and tortuous, over 8 kilometers long, surrounded by dense mountain forests, usually rarely visited, let alone at 22:00 at night, it is even more silent and carless.

The van drove slowly on Shek O Mountain Road, the atmosphere in the car was so oppressive that it made people unable to breathe.

The tied-up Judge Neil Kaplan and his assistant,

Were stripped naked, leaving only their underwear.

Fortunately, it was September, hot, and neither of them felt cold.

At this time, Neil Kaplan and the assistant were covered in sweat and trembling all over.

Damn!

At noon, he said the Five-Star Group was a bit woo-woo... and tonight they came.

This is the King of Hell!

Laughing smiled: "Judge Neil Kaplan... you know who we are now, right?"

Judge Neil Kaplan nodded repeatedly: "Know, know, Five-Star Group."

Slap~~~

Laughing slapped him: "You know too much."

Judge Neil Kaplan: "............"

Hurriedly changed his words: "I don't know anything!"

Laughing sneered: "Neil Kaplan, you really have guts, even daring to refuse our boss's invitation."

Judge Neil Kaplan swallowed his saliva and pretended to be calm: "As a judge, I naturally have to stick to my professional ethics and cannot have private contact with the parties to the case."

"Professional ethics? Hmph!" Laughing sneered disdainfully, "You took the Swire Group's benefits, is this your professional ethics?"

He waved those two checks in his hand.

Judge Neil Kaplan was about to cry!

Damn it, the money is gone, and now there is a life-threatening danger.

Laughing: "Let me tell you a story..."

"The boss has a friend who was selling convertible sports cars in California 10 years ago. He promised that if it rained, he would jump out of the car. As a result, it started raining immediately..."

"Guess what he did?"

Whoosh~~~~

The van door was pulled open.

"Today, I'll teach you what to do."

Laughing said, waving his hand, and two lackeys pushed the assistant toward the car door.

The assistant screamed in terror: "Teacher, save me!"

Then...

"Go down~~~~"

The assistant was kicked out of the car without mercy.

"Ah~~~~~"

The naked assistant rolled a few times on the cement ground outside the car, screaming, and finally stopped.

The fear in Neil Kaplan's heart surged like a tide, his lips trembling.

Laughing pointed at Neil Kaplan's forehead and said viciously:

"See that? This is the consequence of not cooperating with us."

"I gave you face and you didn't want it!"

"You say, are you cheap!"

"If there's a next time, don't jump out of the car, jump off a building!"

Judge Neil Kaplan had completely lost his previous arrogance at this moment, he nodded repeatedly, his voice filled with a crying tone:

"I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong! I am willing to do as you say!"

He was terrified and regretful.

This group of people is crazy!

They will really kill themselves!

He is so precious, how can he die in this kind of place?

No need!

As for the Swire Group?

Screw it, can Swire still do anything to me?

(Swire: Oh no, I've become an honest man.)

"Very good!"

Laughing's cold face disappeared, and he began to be like a spring breeze: "Wouldn't it have been better to be like this earlier. From now on, you'd better handle those things about the Swire Group for me. If there are any more mistakes, I'll throw you off the building directly, understand!"

"Absolutely not! Absolutely not!"

Judge Neil Kaplan nodded busily, his eyes filled with fear and compromise!

A new day,

Judge Neil Kaplan went to work as usual, while the assistant asked for 10 days off on the grounds of family matters and did not appear in court.

Under the urging of the Swire Group, Judge Neil Kaplan quickly completed the approval and then entered the hearing process.

(End of chapter)