2009 November’s Issue
Noriko Sakai Goes on Trial
More than 6,000 people have queued for the 20 seats in a courtroom in Japan to see a famous singer and actress go on trial. Noriko Sakai has pleaded guilty to using and possessing illegal drugs.
When she sang and acted, Noriko Sakai could always attract a crowd but rarely as big as the one that arrive to witness her downfall. Although there was pouring rain, 6,615 people queued to get into the courtroom in Tokyo. Officials set up tents and gave out numbered armbands before holding a lottery draw to decide who would get the 20 seats in the courtroom.
When the hearing began, the 38-year-old pleaded guilty to possessing 0.008 of a gram of what has been described as stimulant drugs, and using drugs too.
Ms Sakai rose to fame first as a Japanese-pop singer in 1987 after releasing a single, Otoko no Ko ni Naritai, a few days before her 16th birthday. Later, she became popular as an actress. But her girl-next-door image was destroyed in August when her husband was arrested over a drugs offence. She ran away for several days before surrendering herself to the police. In the meantime, the police have found more drugs in her flat.
She told the court that using drugs had been her own decision. “It was a very thoughtless act,” she added.
She said she wants to divorce her husband and make a fresh start in nursing care for the elderly. "I must correct myself. I feel miserable," she said. Her husband is being tried separately on similar charges.
Her lawyers pleaded for leniency. The prosecution is seeking an 18-month prison sentence.
Adapted from the article “Japanese pop star goes on trial” by Roland Buerk,
published in BBC News on 26 October, 2009
Vocabulary
|
Word |
Part of Speech |
Meaning |
|
queue |
v. |
to wait in a line of people in order to do something (排隊等候) |
|
courtroom |
n. |
a room that holds legal cases are held (法庭) |
|
guilty |
adj. |
having done something against the law (犯法的) |
|
illegal |
adj. |
not allowed by the law (不合法的) |
|
destroy |
v. |
to damage something so badly that it no longer exists or works (摧毀) |
|
offence |
n. |
an illegal act crime (違法行為) |
|
surrender |
v. |
to allow yourself to be caught (投降、自首) |
|
thoughtless |
adj. |
not caring about the possible effects of your words or actions on other people (粗心大意的) |
|
miserable |
adj. |
very unhappy or uncomfortable (悽慘的) |
|
sentence |
n. |
the punishment given by a court of law (判刑) |
Questions for
F.1 – F.3
Questions for F.4 – F.5
Questions for F.6 – F.7
Answer Keys
F.1 – F.3
|
a |
thoughtless |
f |
queue |
|
b |
guilty |
g |
offence |
|
c |
miserable |
h |
courtroom |
|
d |
surrenders // surrendered |
i |
illegal |
|
e |
destroyed |
j |
sentence |
F.4 – F.5
|
1 |
b |
2 |
c |
3 |
a |
4 |
c |
||
|
a |
singer |
d |
pleaded |
||||||
|
b |
actress |
f |
divorce |
||||||
|
c |
lottery |
g |
old |
||||||
a and b can be swapped.
Lai Chack Middle School
Winners of Monthly News Review Competition
(2009 November’s Issue)
2B, 3A, 3B (100%)
1C (31) 黃達峰 WONG TAT FUNG
2A (33) 劉偉樂 LOU WAI LOK
2C (21) 何俊岐 HO TSUN KI
3A (27) 何卓賢 HO CHEUK YIN
3B (3) 蔣美玲CHIANG MEI LING
4C (22) 黃慶媛WONG HING WUN
5B (33) 黃子誠 WONG TSZ SHING
6A (13) 袁小茵 YUAN XIAOYIN
6A (18) 陳順祥 CHEN SHUNXIANG
7A (5) 韋子深 WEI TSZ SUM MICHELLE
7A (18) 吳輝健 NG FAI KIN
7A (19) 鄧昌明TANG CHEONG MING