Su Jinyu learned that these people had not murdered or pillaged, but had merely stolen property. For a moment, he found it difficult to judge them. They were all orphans with no parents, driven to this to survive. The closest place was Ganzhou County, and as the magistrate of Ganzhou County, he could not disregard the law; he had no choice but to detain them.
"As the saying goes, some things can be done and some cannot. Although your actions did not cost lives, the law is strict and impartial. Since I am the magistrate of Ganzhou County, I cannot bend the law for personal reasons. Your punishment will be commuted to ten strokes of the cane each, suspended for ten days. This is the lightest penalty I can give. Do you have any objections?" Su Jinyu had not yet officially taken office, but he had already tried his first case.
"We accept the judgment, and thank Your Honor for sparing our lives!" Everyone knelt on the ground.
Chapter 195