A transport worker involved in a 'bungling attempt' to murder a businessman was jailed for six years yesterday for his role in the plot. Mr Justice Peter Nguyen told Siu Ping-fuk, 29, that it was a very serious offence, even though no attempt had been made to harm the target of the contract killing. 'I think it is right to say that when assessing sentence for conspiracy to murder . . . the court has seriously regarded what steps were being taken to carry out the unlawful agreement,' the judge said. Siu pleaded guilty to conspiring to murder Fong Sin, 60, a partner in Chun Nam Electrical Appliances Manufacturing Co. Prosecutor John Necholas told the Court of First Instance that police had been unable to establish a motive for the plot. Siu told police he had been hired in November last year by a man called Leung Yiu-kwong to find a contract killer to murder the businessman. Siu offered the $100,000 contract to his friend, and the hitman demanded a $20,000 down-payment. The pair carried out surveillance operations on Mr Fong's home in Comfort Terrace in Causeway Bay. But the hitman fled to the mainland after Siu deposited the $20,000 into his bank account, the court heard. Leung, who has not been charged, then told Siu to find another hitman. Siu's barrister, Robert Forrest, said in mitigation that it was an irony that the defendant was the only one being charged and punished in the case. Mr Forrest also described it as an 'amateurish, almost bungling attempt' to harm the intended victim. In sentencing, Mr Justice Nguyen adopted a starting point of nine years and reduced it for the defendant's guilty plea.
