Fiction: Group 3
Mr. Chung and Ho were discussing. Keith took more photos. Then, he went to interview a few
workers there discreetly at the corner of the building where there were fewer people. He wanted to know
why the Mr. Chung said this was common.
A worker in her 40s said in a soft voice, ’Oh... But do not talk too loud. Mr. Chung does not like us
talking about this topic. Yes, these things are common. As you can see, the environment here is really bad.
We always need to work for sixteen hours per day. Not everyone can take this, especially some of the new
ones here who are still teenagers. But they need to take care of their poor family who can’t afford them to
go to school so they must work here. Their young souls can’t take this much.’
‘The food here is also terrible. It tastes like mud. And the living quarters are filthy. So when some
workers like Ah Mei can’t take this all anymore, they will find ways to end their lives.’ Another middle-
aged worker joined in.
‘Yes, you are right. You know, young man, the boss is super rich. So even if the police finds out
someone has committed suicide, they won’t look into the case.’
‘By the way… Did you say the girl there is called Ah Mei?’
‘Yes. She was 16 years old only. But she needed to take care of her sick mother and the four brothers
and sisters. The worst thing was that his father died two months ago. So she needed to work and take care
the whole family herself.’
Keith was shocked. He learnt that this factory was a sweatshop. While Mr. Chung was still telling
the workers what to do with the bloody body, Ho spotted Keith speaking with some workers. He quickly
ran over and urged Keith to quickly return to the conference room. Keith pulled Ho aside and asked him
why no police or ambulance crew had been called. Ho started shivering and said, ‘I’m afraid… I am a
coward… I have a family… I cannot lose my job. My family depends on me…’ Then he started to cry.
‘What a pity…do you mind telling me more? I must write this down and report it so that everyone in
Hong Kong or even the world can know more about things like this.’
Ho immediately knelt down before him,
‘No! No! Please don’t do that. I will lose my job!’
‘Than what can I do for you?’
‘Just pretend nothing had happened. You saw nothing, okay? Just quickly go back to the
conference room in the main building. If you really have to write about our factory, please don’t talk about
the suicide case you saw. I beg you!’
Chapter 4
When Keith returned to Hong Kong, he struggled for a long time whether he should write about
everything he saw at Kailuding Factory. He discussed with Mr. Lau,
‘Sir, I do not want to betray Ho. But this is about human lives. What should I do? I hope you can
help me make the right decision.’
‘This case might be too heavy for you. Maybe I will ask another journalist to write the feature article.’
‘Sir, so will the case be reported?’ Keith asked.
‘I will need to speak to Mr. Chung myself first. I’ll give you another task to work on in a moment,’
Mr. Lau replied.
‘Sir, but, as journalists…’ Mr. Lau returned to his work and Keith walked out of his supervisor’s
office, with images he saw at the factory flashing before his eyes.
