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SCMP Reporter

A MOVIE stunt man's passion for guns has put him behind bars for five years.

   Szeto Chi-keung, 33, who has performed daredevil feats in a string of films including a stunt on the Great Wall of China, was sentenced in the High Court yesterday.

  The court was told his contact with the world of action movies had triggered a fascination for firearms.

  Szeto was arrested when police officers raided his home early one morning and found he had five Chinese anti-riot pistols.

  His barrister, James Chandler, urged the judge to treat the case as exceptional.

  He said Szeto, who was of good character, had no intention of using the weapons in the pursuit of serious criminal enterprises.

  When offered the guns, which fire ball-bearings, he felt unable to resist because of his 'fixation' with such weapons.

  Szeto told police he had used the pistols on only one occasion, to shoot at birds in the New Territories.

  'I am very fond of shooting birds and cats,' he said.

  Mr Chandler compared Szeto's behaviour to that of a schoolboy with an air gun.

  But he accepted that although the pistols were not as dangerous as guns firing bullets, they could be lethal in some circumstances.

  The court heard Szeto was first offered the guns when taking part in target shooting in China.

  He was approached by a man who asked if he would be interested in purchasing the weapons. Szeto gave the man his pager number.

  Later, on three different occasions, the pistols were brought to Szeto in Hong Kong. He paid $5,600 for each.

   Acting on a tip-off, police raided his home in Hang Tau Village, Sheung Shui, on December 9, 1994. Officers burst into his bedroom where he and his wife were asleep.

  The court heard they found three of the automatic pistols in a bag in the sitting room. The other two were seized from a store room at the back of the house. Twenty rounds of ammunition were also found.

  Mr Chandler said Szeto, who pleaded guilty to possession of the guns and ammunition, had co-operated with police. He had given information which led to a man being arrested in possession of a firearm.

   Szeto was prepared to give evidence against him but the man jumped bail last month.

  Mr Justice Burrell said the guidelines for firearms offences were set down at a time when Hong Kong had been plagued by serious crimes involving guns.

  The fact that this situation had improved was an argument for maintaining those guidelines, he added.

  The judge said he considered a sentence of 10 years imprisonment to be appropriate but reduced it by half because of Szeto's guilty plea and the assistance he had given the police.



5 years for gun-mania stunt man