Fans rejoice as Canto-pop star narrowly escapes jail term

Disgraced pop idol Nicholas Tse Ting-fung received a sentence of 240 hours' community service after a day of high drama inside and outside the court yesterday.

A crowd of 200 - including the press and curious passers-by - camped outside Western Court hours before the delivery of Tse's sentence, hoping to catch a glimpse of the troubled star.

Fans in the waiting area jumped up in excitement when they heard their idol had narrowly escaped a jail term.

Second former Janie, who was still in her school uniform, said: 'Hooray! He doesn't have to go to jail!'

Others fans were also delighted. 'I'm so happy I could die!' said Ah Hei, a Form One student.

The 22-year-old Canto-pop singer was found guilty earlier this month of a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. He was convicted of switching drivers after he crashed his $2 million Ferrari in Central in March this year. Co-defendant Lau Chi-wai, a former police constable, was given six months' jail term.