A CHINESE sailor caught trying to smuggle $1.5 million worth of CD-Rom computer disks into Hong Kong was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment at Eastern Court yesterday.
Li Yue-kun, 40, a purser, was arrested on March 24 when Customs officers boarded a ship from Shantou as it sailed into the territory's waters.
He pleaded guilty to importing unmanifested cargo, placing cargo aboard a vessel without the consent of the owner and importing goods with false trade descriptions. The 3,000 disks were falsely labelled 'Made in Japan'.
Defence barrister Peter Law said Li was 'genuinely remorseful' over a crime committed because of financial difficulties.
'In July, his mother had undergone a stomach operation and the medical fees cost 10,000 yuan (HK$9,180),' he said.
Magistrate Yung Yiu-wing said Li was lucky he was being sentenced in Hong Kong, as elsewhere the penalty might have been heavier.
