Chinese Life in the Tibetan Foothills/Book 3/Judicial Cases
Judicial Cases.
A black clothes case, ch‘ing i an (靑衣案), is one where execution is certain as soon as the evidence has been given; generally robbery with violence.
A red clothes case, hung i an (紅衣案), is a difficult case, perhaps of murder; if the accused is clever he may, after years of imprisonment, gain his liberty. If the knife used in a murder cannot be produced the accused cannot be condemned.
Disputes about estates or marriages are called chêng an (正案). Petty quarrels are often pursued in the courts till a family is ruined in seeking justice or revenge.
Cases of rebellion or where human relationships are violated; a wife killing a husband, son killing a father, etc., are seldom dealt with in an open, regular way; they are settled in private, the criminal being done to death by the family clan.
If a thief is killed while entering a house the householder is guiltless; but should he be killed after escaping a hundred yards or so, the killer may suffer for it. Sometimes a thief is killed first and the hole to enter the house is made afterwards. Sometimes a corpse is carried on to another man's land to get him into trouble. One who lends a knife for a murder may be convicted of murder.