Ten years. It took ten years for the court to call the witness ? and victim ? of a case of larceny with violence, to hear her testimony. It took a woman to break down in court on Tuesday for us to realize that something is very wrong with the way justice is being administered.

Yes, I know. Our attention was only drawn to this fact because the woman in question is called Sheila Bappoo and she happens to be a minister.

And yes, I am sure there must be others who face the same problem everyday but because they are mere anonymous souls, their plight goes unnoticed. Unfortunately however, that?s the way life is and nobody said life was fair.

So, thank God, Sheila Bappoo broke down yesterday; at least, now we know there is something amiss and that despite all the big talk and all the ?reforms?, justice in more ways than one, is not being done. Justice delayed they say, is justice denied.

But let?s also be fair. The Office of the Director of police prosecutions (DPP) referred the larceny and the aggression that took place in 1997, to the courts in 1999. The original case was then split into three ? the current one involving Sheila Bappoo?s testimony, another one where the suspects pleaded guilty and a third one relating to the sale of the jewellery stolen from Mrs Bappoo?s house.

For reasons best known to the police and the DPP?s office, the Bappoo case was lodged in 2004 ? that?s seven years after the crimes were committed. An astounding four years after that, Sheila Bappoo and her husband are called to testify. I presume because for the past four years, every time the case was supposed to have been heard, postponements have been granted on request.

Shocking? I think it is. I think you and I find this shocking because in our naivety, we always think that if ever something happens to us, we?d go to the police, give a statement, the police will inquire (and because we?re naïve we?d think the inquiry will be swift and successful), send the dossier to the DPP?s office and the latter will find that the police has been very diligent and that there is enough evidence to sue whoever has wronged us. The court case, you?d probably like to think, would take a few weeks and in no time at all, the evil people will be put behind bars. Yeah right. Shows what we know.

Or maybe you haven?t given much thought to the question. I suggest you do. Those things happen ? it happened to Sheila Bappoo so it could happen to any of us.

Justice? The less said, the better.

The State, through the police, is supposed to afford protection to all its citizens. And when you haven?t been protected and you have been violated in any way, justice is supposed to be done as a kind of reparation for the failure of the State to protect you.

Whoever wrote that in the Constitution was a great storyteller, I say.