A BOAT captain, imprisoned for smuggling 13 illegal immigrants into Hong Kong, was freed by the Court of Appeal yesterday when his conviction was found to be null.
The court held that as Ng Kit-yuen was sentenced after an amendment in the law, he was entitled to benefit from the change although the offence was committed before.
Ng, 32, who has served almost two years and nine months, had pleaded guilty and was committed for sentence in the High Court.
He was jailed for six years by Mr Justice Gall on March 1, 1991.
His counsel on appeal, Philip Dykes, submitted that before January 1, 1991, while the Governor's consent was needed to prosecute anyone committing an offence on board a vessel in territorial waters, it was presumed to have been given unless someone tookup the point.
However, this presumption was repealed on January 1, 1991, making any conviction on the offence without the Governor's consent a nullity, he said.