Bar Bender (2006)

The police are bringing a traffic offence plus a “hit-and-run” charge against Tycoon NGAI SHING KWAN, and he seeks representation from Barrister TSEUNG MAN TO. At court, TO is confronted by his own daughter TSEUNG SZE TING, who acts as the prosecution counsel. TO helps KWAN win the case by pointing out the inconsistency in the evidence. TO’s ex-wife SUNG YEE WAH throws a party to celebrate opening a French restaurant. TO attends the party with his girlfriend SO YEUK FEI. Though TO and TING are not on good terms, when he learns that his daughter wants Mr. Smith to be her “master”, he does his best to line that up for her without her knowing. KWAN throws a party to celebrate his winning the court case. There is a small commotion as the party is interrupted by a bunch of old ladies including YU TSUI CHUK and SHUM WING MUI, who come in the hope of discussing with KWAN some issues about their home relocation……

LAM KA SHUN is charged with assault with intent on a police officer. On his way to court, his car bumps into TING’s. SHUN persuades TING from reporting the case to the police and leaves her his contact details. TO presents a drawing done by KWAN’s father some 30 years ago as evidence. TO accuses CHUK of having an affair with KWAN’s father back then. CHUK loses the case and is told to move out of the property. FEI wishes to have a baby with TO, but TO tries every way to prevent it. FEI is very disappointed. SHUN is convicted of assault with intent. Dissatisfied, he decides to lodge an appeal. When TING learns that Mr. Smith agrees to be her mentor because of TO, she declines the offer. On the other hand, she joins the Legal Aid Department as convinced by her good friend WAI. When SHUN is on his way to seek legal advice at the Legal Aid Department, TING calls to ask for compensation. SHUN is so angry that he swears at her over the phone……

FEI returns from a business trip and is delighted to find that TO cooks dinner for her. FEI hints that she is pregnant and TO promises to marry her, though quite reluctantly. FEI’s client, Ms SHUM, is disfigured after undertaking IPL skin surgery at FEI’s beauty centre. SHUM is to sue FEI for the damage done to her. TING is harassed by several rascals when she goes to investigate SHUN’s case at the crime scene. Fortunately, TO passes by and comes to her rescue. FEI goes to TO’s office to seek legal advice, but TO is too busy to listen to her. KWAN’s case of assault is put to trial and there is extensive media coverage. TO uses this as an excuse – that KWAN is deprived of a fair trial. However, the judge overrules it. TO plans to help KWAN get away with his crime by asking him to fake insanity. KWAN refuses and walks out on TO in rage. KWAN then persuades LEE KWONG TAK, TO’s “pupil”, to help him……

TING helps SHUN win his case by pointing out that the police officer under attack was in fact not on duty. KWAN is acquitted since the prosecution witness suddenly declares a lost of memory. TO is suspected to have perverted the course of justice and is tailed by reporters for interviews. FEI spends a whole day waiting for TO at the Marriage Registry. TO is nowhere to be seen and FEI is worried. When she returns home, TO questions her pretence of pregnancy. They end up in a huge quarrel. The police secure evidence to prove KWAN instructed his staff to pay the prosecution witness to commit perjury. Ms. SHUM is willing to accept a smaller compensation from FEI since her boyfriend is returning to Hong Kong, and she needs the money for her plastic surgery. However, when she learns that her boyfriend has married another woman, she commits suicide in FEI’s beauty house……

TO is distressed and agitated because of the prosecution, FEI tries to comfort him but is treated callously. Disappointed, she decides to break up with him and leaves Hong Kong for a trip. KWAN abandons his development plans in Shanghai and TO suffers huge investment losses. TO, therefore, goes to reason with KWAN. The two ended up in a fight and broke up. WAI volunteers to become a helper at the prison, visiting a prisoner called CHAN WAI KEUNG, who was charged with murder seven years ago. KEUNG tells WAI that someone nicknamed “Spanner” can prove him innocent. SHUN helps WAI find “Spanner”, but “Spanner” refuses to tell her the truth. Patient HO SIU KEI goes into a coma after an operation at the hospital. SHUN remembers that he overheard a conversation between two hospital staff at the back staircase when he visit his mother at the hospital……

TO is prosecuted for assault and he admitted to the charge. The judge gives him a 240-hour community service order and the case is filed for record. When TING learns that her boyfriend LEUNG is being prosecuted for medical negligence, she tries to find relevant information at the library to help him. TAK sees her at the library and pretends to bump into her by chance. TO’s business deteriorates after he breaks up with KWAN. He serves his mandamus at a community center, where he meets WAI. WAI asks him to go outdoors to plant trees and do some re-painting. TO is not happy with the arrangement and requests to switch to another community center. However, when he discovers that TING is also serving in the community center as a volunteer, he changes his mind. LIN refuses to accept the compensation offer made by the hospital to settle the case outside court. She only wishes the hospital to publicly apologise to her family……

Senior law clerk YU LOK SZE and Counsel HO visit the hospital where LEUNG works and request permission to take away the record of KEI’s surgery for further examination. SHUN tries to find the patient CHAN FOOK SHUI, whom he met at the back staircase at the hospital. SHUN believes that SHUI can help LIN win the case. He then discovers that SHUI is an old friend of his father LAM CHUNG YEE. TO is made fun of by an adolescent called TSANG CHIN CHOI who is also serving his mandamus at the community centre. CHOI plays tricks on TO and makes him all wet. TO swears that he will sue CHOI. TO catches a cold and takes the wrong medicine. He faints and is sent to the hospital by WAI. LIN’s case is taken to trial. The laboratory tests find there are no other pen marks under the correction fluid made on the document. TAK starts to interrogate SHUN and succeeds to make his alibi sounds weak……

LIN loses the case. TING throws a celebration for LEUNG at WAH’s restaurant. CHOI, with the help of several other juvenile delinquents, ties TO up and leaves him in a deserted place in the rural area. Fortunately, CHOI’s father “Spanner” comes to his rescue and releases him. By chance, TAK overhears LEUNG dating another girl. He deliberately asks to meet TING at the same place, so that she can discover LEUNG having an affair behind her back. TING also finds out the truth about KEI’s coma and is heart-broken. She quickly moves to her new apartment to shun LEUNG. TING visits KEI at the hospital and meets LEUNG. LEUNG comes to apologise to LIN and gives her $500,000 for compensation. TING tells LEUNG that she will not forgive him. “Spanner” plans to substitute for CHOI when he knows that CHOI is to join a gangster massacre. However, he is arrested by the police on his way……

When TO is raising funds on the street, he meets KWAN and his friend CHIU SUN KWAI. KWAN and KWAI tease TO, saying that he uses KEUNG’s case to help promote and publicise himself. Infuriated, TO decides to seriously take up the case and represent KEUNG. He is, however, threatened the next day by a bearded man. Fortunately, SHUN helps send him off. TING discovers that LEUNG has nasopharyngeal cancer and goes to visit him. LEUNG asks her to come back to him. SHUN sees the bearded man getting in to a limousine and the car-owner is KWAI. KEUNG recapitulated the death of his girlfriend TSE YAN TUNG. TO and WAI pretend to be a couple and go to investigate TUNG’s flat. KEUNG’s case is put to trial, and TO uses the depositions made by the forensic pathologist to rebut the time of death originally stated. Meanwhile, CHEUNG YING LAI is prosecuted for assaulting his neighbour KWOK KEI CHEUNG. LAI seeks help from the Legal Aid Department……

TAK requests to adjourn the hearing. TING discovers the appearance of CHEUNG’s girlfriend AU YEUNG SHAN is the reason for TAK being suddenly so emotional. The hearing of TO’s case resumes and, in his closing speech, TO points out that there was a third person at the crime scene when TUNG was murdered. He proves this point with a photo he obtained from the police. The judge admits there is reasonable doubt and KEUNG is acquitted. TO becomes the hero and his office is crowded with reporters and those who want him to help them like he helped KEUNG. KEUNG tells WAI about his feelings for her, but WAI gently declines his love. KEUNG’s mother LAU HAU TAI sneaks out of hospital to thank TO and comes across him in a coffee shop. The two then become friends. TING is inspired by the love story that SHUN reads and does a search on the internet. As expected, she discovers LAI’s diary there. TING is worried that LAI will attack CHEUNG again……

The bearded man plans to steal a videotape from TO that contains evidence of a crime committed by KWAI. Fortunately, SHUN arrives in time to save TO from the bearded man’s attack. The police charge KWAI for bribing public officers and for murdering TUNG. LAI’s case is at the final hearing stage and the closing speech made by TAK moves the jury. TING is also impressed by his performance. TO decides to hire SHUN as his messenger because of his righteousness. TO comes across his “master” LAW TAO MING and they are obviously not congenial. MING believes TO has other intentions when he agrees to help KEUNG. TO is infuriated by this accusation. CHUK visits MUI at the elderly home and discovers MUI hurt herself when she helped move things around. CHUK asks TO to write to the elderly home to help make a claim for MUI’s injury. MUI later receives a huge sum as compensation. When MUI tells WAI about the compensation, CHUK arrives to visit her……

WAI’s younger brother CHONG HIU YUNG spends all his time playing on the computer. One day, on his way to repair his computer, he comes across a young girl in a convenient store who is about to give birth to her baby. He, assisted by the sales personnel at the convenient store and SHUN’s sister LAM KA KEI, help the young girl, LAI SHUK FUN, deliver the baby. FUN, however, abandons the baby in a garbage center. The police discover some of YUNG’s belongings in the baby wrappings and thus invite him and KEI to help in their investigation. SZE gets to know a man named KWAN CHUNG WING on the Internet. WING looks very similar to her boss YEUNG CHING. WING asks SZE for a date in a classy restaurant and leaves after the meal without paying. SZE must seek help from WAI to pay the bill. A few days later, WING apologizes to SZE and promises to pay her back. SZE is bewitched by his charm……

FUN does not want to be separated from the baby and decides to commit suicide. TO appears and manages to persuade her to give up the idea. WING asks SZE to lend him $100,000 and all of a sudden, two men appear and threaten WING. SZE pretends to be very familiar with the law and succeeds in scaring them off. WING is then charged with rape, but he pleads not guilty. He seeks help at the Legal Aid Department and discovers that SZE works there. He repeats that he does not cheat on her. Ever since he helped FUN delivered her baby, YUNG has been having nightmares. He finds KEI a good companion to talk to. The Department of Justice is pursuing its charges on FUN. TO therefore invites the prosecution lawyer, YUEN DING FONG, to visit FUN when she attends her nursery classes. He also lets FONG know that FUN found a job at a fast food restaurant……

TO follows MING and sees him having an argument with a whore named Sister KAM. MING is pushed and falls onto the ground. SHUN knows TING wants to go to a concert by a famous violinist. He pretends to win two tickets in a lucky draw and gives them to TING and TAK. KWAI’s company forces KWAN to pay the deposit for a construction job. KWAN does not want to pay and is pissed. He asks TAK to settle this for him. SZE ignores the rumors and promises to testify for WING. FEI’s employee LO CHOI WAN is injured during work and asks FEI for compensation. FEI accuses her of having a poor attitude and fires her. WAN seeks help at the Legal Aid Department, saying that she suffers from depression after having sustained her injury. TING senses that WAN is abusing the help offered by the Department. TAK is too busy to go to the concert with TING and TING asks SHUN go with her. FEI and KWAN get married and TO is dejected……

When TO visits MING at the hospital, he overhears MING’s fiancee EVA questioning MING for his reasons for helping LIU HOI CHU. MING is reluctant to talk. TO remembers that CHU is being prosecuted for a suicide pact, and asks WAI to help him find out more from Sister KAM. TO then learns from secretary TAI KWAN NGO about the relationship between MING and CHU. WING tells SZE he has sent a letter to CHING on her behalf to express to him her feelings. Shortly afterwards, CHING transfers SZE to the Litigation Division. SZE suspects that CHING wants to avoid her. TING is sick and TAK asks SHUN to bring her a consolation card. SHUN also cooks her some soup. TING thinks the soup is from TAK and is delighted. TAK sends some illegal workers to plant evidence of jerry-building at KWAI’s construction site. He also deliberately leaks the news and lets ICAC investigate the case. Therefore, KWAN is not required to pay the deposit……

In order to prevent CHU from committing suicide, MING promises to admit his negligence, which would cause CHU to fail to claim back the compensation for her husband’s injury. EVA cannot understand why MING agrees to admit his negligence as he is damaging his own reputation. She also believes MING no longer loves her, decides to leave him and goes back to the UK. MING works on CHU’s case and indulges in finding relevant evidence. His health fails him and he faints in court. TO finds a torn page in the office regarding CHU’s case and remembers MING’s teaching in the past. He decides to represent CHU on MING’s behalf. CHU talks in court about how she had become a whore and how she has come to know the victim, TIN MEI YUK as well as why she wants to commit suicide. EVA and TING are touched by her story. TING is to be engaged with TAK and EVA also goes back to MING. In the end, CHU is also acquitted.

MING hosts a banquet at TO’s house and TING announces the good news of her marriage to TAK. SHUN is heart-broken. When WAI takes KEUNG to visit CHUK and MUI, they come across Sister HO who is suffering from epilepsy and hemiplegia. WAI later finds out Sister HO’s condition has worsened after taking prescribed medication from a doctor, which has side effects. WAI refers the case to TO and TO helps Sister HO make a claim for her compensation. WAI bought him dinner to thank him for his help. During the meal, KEUNG is upset to see WAI and TO on very good terms. KEI helps SHUN meet a client at the hotel and they hold a video conference with YUNG. YUNG mistakes the client for taking advantage of KEI and rushes to the hotel to her rescue. TAK becomes a senior counsel and KWAN celebrates with him at a night club. On his way home, TAK nearly crashes his car into SHUN’s……

TO finds out from his police friend that SHUN is suspected to have been in possession of illegal drugs and is being prosecuted. TO questions SHUN and TAK, and SHUN tries to hide the truth. At TING’s engagement party, TO overhears TAK’s telephone conversation and learns that TAK is the one who possessed the drugs. He rushes to court to stop SHUN from being TAK’s scapegoat. However, by the time he gets there, SHUN has already pleaded guilty. TO is incensed and reprimands SHUN for obstructing the course of justice. He also reproaches him for not revealing his love for TING. KEUNG knows that WAI has fallen for TO, but WAI denies it. SHUN fails to close the business deal with the client and YI is so disappointed that he faints and is sent to the hospital. YI meets KWAN BING CHUNG at the hospital. CHUNG is the villain who cheated YI out of his toy factory……

The foreman at TAI HOI SHING is wounded by some illegal workers and he seeks help at the Legal Aid Department. He specifically asks TAK to represent him. On the other hand, YI’s ex-employee WONG CHEUK FUNG also calls him up. TING suspects that something is wrong. SHUN talks FUNG into giving up the idea of reconciliation and insists on suing KWAN for compensation. KWAN wants to bribe TO by giving him a luxurious apartment. He asks TO not to appear in court to give witness. TO refuses. Since TO is involved in the case, YI therefore appoints TING to represent him. In the trial, TING points out that when YAU FU sold out YI’s factory, they were using very unusual tactics. Also, the buyer, Merchant MUI, was a very close friend of KWAN and had a special relationship with YAU FU. TING is shocked to discover TAK peeking at her documents on YI’s case. Disappointed in TAK, she offers to break up with him……

FEI is frightened and as a result has a miscarriage. KWAN is enraged. When WAI visits TO at the hospital, she notices a technician behaving very strangely and suspects he may do harm to TO. She secretly moves TO away from his ward. Meanwhile, TO’s office is being set on fire and he knows KWAN is behind the arson. As TO is unable to appear in court due to his injury, he writes TING a letter to testify against KWAN. TAK objects and argues that was not reasonable. He moves to dismiss TO as a prosecution witness. TO suddenly appears in court in a wheelchair to testify. He discloses how KWAN marked up YI’s loan amount to con away his factory. At the end of the trial, the judge rules that KWAN needs to pay YI compensation of $300 million. KWAN wants to appeal but is arrested for attempted murder. TING decides to take a break and let herself heal from the two unhappy relationships……