Mother avoids jail

A MOTHER of four who helped deliver a television set to the Eastern waterfront avoided going to jail yesterday when a magistrate found she was needed at home.

Chan Wai-chun, 39, a housewife, admitted she was helping to place a television set onto a boat on September 3.

Eastern Court Magistrate Michael Hill said smuggling and assisting smuggling were offences which normally required a jail sentence.

But he said Chan had a clear record and was needed to look after her family.

He decided to impose a sentence of three months suspended for 18 months.

The court heard Chan received only $50 as payment and had committed the offence out of ignorance.