The story about Govinda (#39) is tragic. The modern criminal justice system (MCJS) gives importance to physical evidence. The Japanese police produced a DNA test report of semen and pubic hair found at the scene of the crime in the District Court. The DNA test report is irrefutable, and was the evidence used to find Govinda guilty. However, as you point out, there is the unanswered question of the two other pieces of hair found at the scene of crime which were not Govinda's. The murdered woman was a sex worker, and she was probably involved with other clients. On that ground alone, the Tokyo District Court should have found the evidence circumstantial, and Govinda given the not guilty verdict.

My concern is not what Japanese justice system did, but how the police investigated the case. You quote a Japanese lawyer as saying that if Govinda was an American or European, he was have been free to go home. The question begs an answer: why aren't Nepalis treated like Americans and Europeans?

R Sunuwar
Baneswor