bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

David Wong, wrongfully accused of murder in the US, sees huge changes in HK after 20 years

Revelling in his new-found freedom after being released from wrongful imprisonment in the US, David Wong Kin-chin still feels disoriented as he adjusts to life in the city he left more than 20 years ago.

'Everything looks different now. The subway used to have two lines and now it goes everywhere. New buildings have sprouted up and they are connected in a different way from my past memories of Hong Kong. I have to get used to it now,' he said.

Relaxing at his family's public housing estate apartment in Chai Wan with his mother and nephew, Mr Wong rejoiced at his new-found liberty. Away from spartan prison cells, he has more space to himself and can enjoy life in Hong Kong again.

'I definitely feel it. [There's] nobody watching me for 24 hours, I don't need to get somebody to open the door for me to go out, or wait for breakfast to be served. That's a big relief,' he said.

Mr Wong spent almost 20 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit.

He was framed for murder while in jail for the attempted robbery of a restaurant, and now has a civil lawsuit pending against New York state authorities for his wrongful conviction.

He had been held as an illegal immigrant after his acquittal on the murder charge in December, and tried to remain in the US.

However, last Tuesday Mr Wong was abruptly removed from the Buffalo Detention Facility in upstate New York  and taken in handcuffs to Rochester airport, where he boarded a flight to Chicago's O'Hare airport.

There, he was transferred to a Hong Kong-bound United Airlines flight and arrived in the city on Wednesday afternoon. Immigration officers kept him in a window seat and followed him to the bathroom while he was on the plane, but these high-security measures did not seem to bother Mr Wong.

'I'm just happy to be home and free. I don't mind what it takes,' he said.

He feels at ease away from  potential racial discrimination.

'I am glad to see all the Chinese faces here, I feel safe in my own country. I don't have to worry that I will be badly treated because of my skin colour,' he says.

Though no  hugs and kisses were exchanged at their emotional reunion, Mr Wong said he felt deep affection for his family.

'My sister and her husband work long hours, but they took time off to take me and my mother out for a nice dinner. We felt like a big family again,' he said.

Mr Wong - who taught himself English and law while in prison, and was offered a paralegal job in the US - is not sure what the future holds for him in Hong Kong.

'The law here in Hong Kong is different than in the US. I don't know if I can do [paralegal work] here. I don't know what the possibilities in Hong Kong or China are, but I hope I can use my experiences for a better cause,' he said.

Mr Wong  said his reading in jail, which included Buddhist mantras, had given him a new philosophy on life.

'All things have two sides - the positive and the negative. I only look at the positive now, which gives me knowledge and inspiration,' he said.

'I realise that if I had not gone to jail in the first place, I wouldn't have been in such a predicament.

'I had to take responsibilities for my actions and I learned from that. I have to respect the cause and effect. There's a reality out there - you have to step carefully.'

He said he hoped the Chinese community in the US would continue the struggle for justice.

'Racism is so deep-rooted that the United States jurisdiction is not going to change until they are forced to do so.

'I want to sue them [the officers] for malicious prosecution to make them accountable for their wrongdoing,' he said.



Bewildered by the taste of freedom