JUSTICE PAO (1995)
SERIES REVIEW CASE NUMBER 4
Dung Tai Si takes his daughter and son in law, Phu Lo Tin, to Shaolin to visit the monks. As Phu Lo Tin enters the temple, a young girl watches and sneaks into the temple. She gets into the kitchen and attempts to poison the tea. Unfortunately the bamboo container was empty. Upon discovering this the girl made an attempt to escape and was successful. Meanwhile a blind boy accidentally drops a bamboo container into the well whilst attempting to capture an insect. Later all the villagers of Sak Ka Chin drink the water in the well and becomes ill. The girl, Yip Siu Ching, arrives back at Sak Ka Chin after her unsuccessful attempt at killing Phu Lo Tin. She finds her brother, sick with the poison. Many days later Justice Pao arrived and took the ill villagers back to heal. Yip Siu Ching elected to travel with Justice Pao to look after her blind brother. Jin Chiu went around the village to investigate the possible cause. Together with Kung Sin Chuk, Jin Chiu, suspected that the well had been poisoned. Jin Chiu then located the bamboo container at the bottom, and took it as evidence. Doctor Phu Lo Tin was requested to help Justice Pao, find a cure to the poison. Although Phu Lo Tin knew the cause of the poison, he stated that there was no cure for it. He informed Justice Pao that the 29 villagers had only 8 days left to live. The King then seeks the advice of Lord 8, Dung Tai Si, Justice Pao and Phu Lo Tin. At once Dung Tai Si, attempts to create trouble for Justice Pao. The King listens carefully to Dung Tai Si, and Justice Pao is given eight days to solve the case. Dung Tai Si has always hated Justice Pao, and attempted to get him into trouble. Justice Pao promised the King that he would solve the case in 8 days. In order to solve the case Justice Pao knew that he needed to find the motive behind poisoning the well. Suddenly he finds a letter on his desk gives away some clues, which relates to a case 10 years ago. Ten years ago, the best doctor, Yip Chi Chow was beheaded for poisoning Lord Wai. The letter also reveals that Phu Lo Tin was a former student of doctor Yip Chi Chow. Justice Pao decided to visit Phu Lo Tin in the morning to ask about the case ten years ago. Phu Lo Tin put the blame on Yip Chi Chow, and stated that he knew nothing about the death of Lord Wai. After Justice Pao had gone, Phu Lo Tin, sent his junior classmate Mar Kwai Cheung, to cover up his trails. Later Jin Chiu was investigating the owner of the bamboo stick when the blind boy recognized that it was his sister's, Yip Siu Ching, by touching it. Justice Pao immediately went to see Yip Siu Ching, who blew her cover by revealing the amount of days the villagers had left to live. In the evening with the help of Kung Sin Chuk, Justice Pao was able to match the drawing on the bamboo stick to the writing on the letter, which contained the poetry. At once they suspected Yip Siu Ching. Jin Chiu was sent to investigate Yip Siu Ching's real identity. Jin Chiu followed Yip Siu Ching to an old medicine hut, which contained a wooden plark with Yip Chi Chow's name written on it. At once Jin Chiu realized that Yip Siu Ching was Yip Chi Chow's daughter Yip So So. Phu Lo Tin had also found the old medicine hut and he too realized that Yip So So was still alive. He took the bamboo stick and sent Mar Kwai Cheung to kill Yip So So. The masked Mar Kwai Cheung captures the blind boy as hostage. Justice Pao then trades places with the blind boy to allow Mar Kwai Cheung to escape and prevent the boy from being hurt. Jin Chiu arrived back in time to save Justice Pao from Mar Kwai Cheung after a sort battle. Mar Kwai Cheung managed to escape however. Yip So So then revealed her real identity to Justice Pao and explained how the villagers were accidentally poisoned. She also admitted to the fact that she had written the letter. Yip So So then went on to explain the motive behind all the trouble that she had caused. Ten years ago, her farther Yip Chi Chow formulated a mixture called, Hit Chung Heung, which would restore a human being to full health regardless of the illness. The mixture combined two very deadly poisons, one of which was very expensive and hard to obtain. Phu Lo Tin, suggested that they sell the mixture at a fortune. Yip Chi Chow objected to Phu Lo Tin's ideas. Later Yip Chi Chow was invited into the place to heal Lord Wai, a great war general. During his attempt to heal Lord Wai, Phu Lo Tin, added poison to the medicine which was given to Lord Wai. When Lord Wai died, Yip Chi Chow, was accused of plotting to murder him. Phu Lo Tin framed his master by writing a letter accusing him of collaborating with the Kithan government. Thus Yip Chi Chow was sentence to death and labeled a traitor. Months later Phu Lo Tin, killed his own wife Yip Chun Fai, who stumbled across his evil plans of stealing Yip Chi Chow's formula for creating the mixture of Hit Chung Heung. Before dying Yip Chun Fai, handed the formula over to Yip So So and made her promise to avenge her death and clear her farther's name. Yip So So was forced to take care of her brother when her mother died in a cyclone. Ever since she had been plotting to take revenge on Phu Lo Tin. In order to prove her farther's innocence, she wanted to poison Phu Lo Tin, which would force him into using the Hit Chung Heung mixture to cure himself. Based on Yip So So's personality, Justice Pao believed her story. However without evidence it would be hard to prove that Phu Lo Tin was infact an evil man. Justice Pao then sent Wong Chiu and Mar Hon to follow Phu Lo Tin around. In order to get Justice Pao off his back Phu Lo Tin decided to sent Mar Kwai Cheung to poison the water to make more people sick. The King then ordered Justice Pao to solve the case quickly. Phu Lo Tin then hid the formula of Hit Chung Heung in a statute to of Buddha which he gave to Lord 8 as a birthday present. Meanwhile Jin Chiu, Wong Chiu, Mar Hon, Cheung Lo and Jiu Fung all spent the day to dig up Yip Chun Fai's body, as evidence against Phu Lo Tin. Under pressure to solve the case quickly Jin Chiu, rushed forward and attempted to dig up Lord Wai's grave without young Lord Wai's permission. Jin Chiu was captured but decided to take all of the punishment himself. Young Lord Wai was furious and requested that Jin Chiu be serverly punished. Justice Pao then reveals to the King that he suspects Doctor Phu Lo Tin as for the crime of killing old Lord Wai 10 years ago. Dung Tai Si and young Lord Wai put in good words for Phu Lo Tin, whilst Lord 8 tried to help Justice Pao. Before taking action the King demanded that Justice Pao show him the evidence which would prove his case. Mar Kwai Cheung was sent to destroy the evidence and managed to sink the ship carrying Yip Chun Fai's body. When the King received news that the evidence had been destroyed he was not pleased. At the request of Lord Wai, Dung Tai Si and Phu Lo Tin, Jin Chiu was striped of his rank and punished physically for attempting to dig up old Lord Wai's body. In order to solve the case Justice Pao knew that he had to locate the mixture of Hit Chung Heung. Later Yip So So went to find Phu Lo Tin by herself and attempted to poison him once more. She was unsuccessful but was rescued by Jin Chiu who was hit by one of the poison needles meant for Phu Lo Tin. Jin Chiu immediately became ill. Phu Lo Tin took the weapon and went to see the King. In order to solve the case Cheung Lo, Jiu Fu, Wong Chiu, and Mar Hon helped to restore Jin Chiu's inner power so he could attempt to find old Lord Wai's body once more. The four of them became poisoned also. With his inner power restored, Jin Chiu, successfully took old Lord Chun's body back to Kung Sin Chuk who operated on the body. He discovered the poison used to kill old Lord Chun. Young Lord Wai then sent his soldiers and captured Jin Chiu, Kung Sin Chuk, Wong Chiu, Mar Hon, Cheung Lo and Jiu Fu. The King was not pleased and Justice Pao was summoned to the royal court. Once again Jin Chiu took the full blame. This time they are all throne into the dungeon. Justice Pao then pleaded with the King to give him full jurisdiction over the case. At first the King did not agree until Justice Pao, put his job on the line. The King then granted Justice Pao a further 3 days to solve the case with the help of Lord 8, who offered the King to protect old Lord Wai's body which had been operated on in order to prevent others from tampering with the evidence. In the final moments Justice Pao decided to visit Jin Chiu and Kung Sin Chuk to seek their advice. Justice Pao then suspected that the mixture of Hit Chung Heung was hidden in the statute that was given to Lord 8 by Phu Lo Tin. The others agreed. Justice Pao then went to see Lord 8 who was also visited by Phu Lo Tin. Upon Justice Pao's request Lord 8 split the statute in half, but they did not find the mixture. Phu Lo Tin laughed at Justice Pao and demanded an apology. Justice Pao then realized that the mixture must have been hidden in the base of the statute. Sure enough he found the mixture in the base of the statute after splitting it in half with his sword. Phu Lo Tin was then placed under arrest. In the evening a Mar Kwai Cheung attempted to kill Justice Pao, who was saved by Jin Chiu, who had been set free by Lord 8. Without other evidence, Justice Pao was forced to set Phu Lo Tin free. With the mixture of Hit Chung Heung, Justice Pao was able to heal the villagers as well as Jin Chiu, Wong Chiu, Mar Hon, Cheung Lo, and Jiu Fu. The mixture was also used to slowly heal the blind boys eyes. In order prove her case Justice Pao needed to locate Yip Chun Fai's body. By some twist of fate, Yip So So managed to locate the body of Yip Chun Fai, which had been lost at sea. Kung Sin Chuk operated on the body and discovered that she had been killed by the same poison, which killed Lord Wai. With this evidence, and the word of Mar Kwai Cheung, Phu Lo Tin had could not talk his way out of trouble. In a last stitched effort Phu Lo Tin stated that Yip So So also deserved to die as much as he did because she caused the death three innocent lives when she poisoned the well. Justice Pao stated that the case between Yip So So and Phu Lo Tin was different. Yip So So immediately drank some poison allowing Justice Pao, to kill Phu Lo Tin immediately. Phu Lo Tin then captured his own pregnant wife and attempted to escape. Jin Chiu saved Dung Tai Si's daughter who was now in labor. Justice Pao then gave the mixture to Yip So So so she could help deliver the baby. Upon doing this act Yip So So was set free, after she heals those who have become ill through her mistake by Justice Pao. Mar Kwai Cheung was sentenced to 10 years of in the dungeon for taking part in the cover up. Phu Lo Tin was sentenced to death. Despite the pleas of Dung Tai Si, and Yip So So, Phu Lo Tin was beheaded. Before doing so Justice Pao reminded Dung Tai Si that many innocent lives were lost because of Phu Lo Tin. Despite the fact that he saved many lives later did not matter because he did so only for fame and fortune. RATING (5) Another average Justice Pao case. Despite it being only four episodes long it did nothing to draw my attention. Action was sadly lacking. Phu Lo Tin was just plain evil and only showed signs of remorse moments before his death. Yip So So was the opposite just plain good-natured. The only difference between her case and that of Phu Lo Tin in the end was that she accidentally caused the lost of three lives. Phu Lo Tin on the other hand personally killed Yip Chun Fai, and deliberately caused the deaths of many innocent lives. The acting in this story was okay nothing really to rave about either. Tsang Wai Kin normally plays good characters so it was surprising to see him in an evil role. It just goes to show in the case that no matter how hard someone tries to conceal their crimes Justice Pao will also find the truth eventually.
[CASE 1] [CASE 2] [CASE 3] [CASE 4] [CASE 5] [CASE 6] [CASE 7] [CASE 8] [PAO CHING TIN] [JIN CHIU] [KUNG SIN CHUK] |
