A SELF-CONFESSED drug trafficker who helped implicate a major syndicate member was jailed for eight years yesterday after the High Court ruled he was not protected by complete immunity.
Macau tourist guide Yim Chun-pong, 32, was sentenced for smuggling more than six kilograms of heroin worth $5 million into Hong Kong in July 1992.
Lawyer Paul Dinan claimed an immunity deal had been made after Yim agreed to give evidence against other members in the drug gang. It led to conviction of Yim's partner, Wong Ka-chun.
Yim admitted smuggling heroin from Thailand to Taiwan via Hong Kong three times while testifying against Wong.
On the last trip, both men were caught at Kai Tak airport in possession of the heroin. Yim pleaded guilty and was convicted on one count of drug trafficking as a result.
Judge Pang ruled the immunity did not cover the charge on which Yim had already been convicted. Giving Yim a 16-year discount for the danger he had placed himself and his family in, he said Yim could not escape having been caught red-handed.
