Questions raised over paid prison visits case

Questions have been raised after two magistrates handled different defendants in the same case, with the mastermind of the illegal jail-visit scheme being given a community service order while those who worked for him were jailed for two months.

Veteran criminal lawyer Stephen Hung Wan-shun said that where there were co-accused, some of whom pleaded guilty and the others not guilty, the usual practice was to adjourn sentencing of the former until after the trial of the latter.

"After listening to all the evidence, a magistrate will have a better understanding of all the evidence in the trial," he said. "This can avoid inconsistency in sentencing."

In Kwun Tong Court yesterday, mastermind Thomas Wan, a former auxiliary policeman, and five people who worked for him were ordered by Deputy Magistrate Kennis Tai Chiu-ki to perform community service of 100 to 240 hours. They had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to defraud prison officers.

Earlier, Principal Magistrate Ernest Lin Kam-hung imposed two-month jail terms on three other employees, all housewives, who pleaded guilty.

The court heard that Wan's company, IPS-Care, hired people to pose as friends of inmates to visit them for HK$120 a time if they passed on messages, food and daily necessities.