Hong Kong court grants conditional release to US state senator arrested at airport for carrying gun
- Senator Jeff Wilson of Washington state was earlier arrested for carrying a gun without a licence after leaving the firearm in his luggage while flying to Hong Kong
- West Kowloon Court releases US politician on two-year bind-over order and tells him to avoid repeating offence in city
A US state senator arrested in Hong Kong for unlicensed possession of a gun was granted a conditional discharge on Monday, after prosecutors highlighted the politician’s frank admission over what he called a “horrible accident”.
West Kowloon Court released Jeff Wilson on a two-year bind-over order, which requires the Republican senator from Washington state to avoid committing further firearms offences in the city.
The 63-year-old could be fined HK$2,000 (US$255) and sentenced again for the original transgression if he failed to follow the legal order. The firearm was also confiscated.
Wilson landed himself in the dock for keeping a revolver in his briefcase when he entered Hong Kong on October 21.
The state senator previously said on his official webpage that he had not realised the unloaded gun was in his luggage when he passed through airport security in Portland for a five-week holiday in Southeast Asia with his wife.
He said baggage screeners at the airport in the United States had not noticed either and he had only discovered the weapon while en route to Hong Kong. He was arrested in the city upon declaring the gun.
Wilson said he had initially intended to spend up to three days in Hong Kong before travelling elsewhere to expand US trade ties, according to a prosecution case summary.
He said he had a licence issued by Washington state for the revolver he bought for US$350 in 2020, adding he felt very bad for the “horrible accident”.
Cherry Chong Man-yan, a senior public prosecutor, on Monday said the case was “rather straightforward” and noted the defendant had earlier confessed to customs officers that he had brought along the firearm by mistake.
“In the course of the investigation, he has made an admission in an open manner … We also considered the fact that he is of clear record in Hong Kong,” Chong said in explaining the justice department’s decision.
Principal Magistrate Don So Man-lung at first questioned why prosecutors would let Wilson off the hook without finding out how the politician got through two layers of security screening: first in Portland, then in San Francisco, where he transited.
“This is still a mystery as to how a gun got through security at least once, and why was there no security check in transit?” the magistrate said.
He also raised concerns that Wilson could have carried ammunition for the gun while travelling, as bullets were necessary to use the firearm for its stated purpose of self-defence.
Defence counsel Joseph To Ho-shing, a retired magistrate, said Wilson did not undergo a second security check before boarding the flight to Hong Kong, and he had no idea why his gun had gone unnoticed.
The magistrate remained unconvinced but said he would accept Wilson did not knowingly possess the firearm in light of his background.
He noted the politician was previously a US trade delegate who had travelled to Hong Kong and mainland China frequently, and the present case was more likely to be an accident.
“From the limited information available to the court, I am inclined to believe the defendant was innocent,” the magistrate concluded.
Wilson did not respond to questions from the press when he left court accompanied by his lawyers.
Unlicensed possession of a firearm in Hong Kong is punishable by up to 14 years in prison and a HK$100,000 fine.
