A HAIRDRESSER enlisted the help of friends to beat up and rob a loanshark in an act of revenge, a court heard. Jailing Wai Shing-wah, 50, for 31/2 years, Deputy Judge Jenkins said in the District Court yesterday that a loanshark should expect violence from his borrowers from time to time. However, he said, while he had no sympathy for the victim, the man was still entitled to the protection of the law. He noted it was a planned attack and Wai, who continued to beat up the loanshark after robbing him, had acted out of revenge. Wai had denied robbing Leung Kwok-cheong. Prosecutor Derry Wong said Wai borrowed $5,000 from Leung in June last year and agreed to pay interest of $500 every 10 days. On the evening of July 2, last year, the two agreed to meet outside a Shekkipmei restaurant so Wai could pay the interest on the loan. But Wai arrived with three other men who helped him drag the money-lender into a lane, where they kicked and punched him. One of the men hit Leung on the head with a shovel, while another hit him with bricks before pulling him to a nearby staircase and robbing him of $6,700 in cash and other valuables. Wai's friends, who have not been caught, left the scene, but Wai continued to assault Leung, the court heard. During the scuffle they both sustained injuries and collapsed, to be found lying on the ground when the police arrived. In his defence, Wai maintained that he went to Shekkipmei to pay Leung, but was attacked by a robber and lost consciousness. When he regained consciousness, he bumped into the victim in the dark lane and, thinking that he was the robber, he fought with him until they were both exhausted and collapsed, he told the court. Wai's lawyer, Paul Cheng, said Wai had run up gambling debts and had to borrow money from loansharks, friends and relatives.
