Hong Kong protests: ex-salesman who attempted boat escape to Taiwan with 11 others pleads guilty to perverting course of justice
- Tang Kai-yin, now 34, was released by mainland Chinese authorities after he admitted in Shenzhen court to organising illegal border crossing
- Judge Ernest Lin questioned whether the accused, who steered speedboat, had pressed ahead with trip despite risks
Judge Ernest Michael Lin Kam-hung questioned whether the accused, who steered the speedboat carrying the 12, had pressed ahead with the trip despite the risks involved.
He said the vessel might not have been able to make its way to the self-ruling island even if mainland Chinese authorities had not intervened.
“This boat was bound for Tainan [in southern Taiwan] … It didn’t need to pass the Taiwan Strait, but still the wind would have been strong. This boat was not fit for an expedition,” Lin said.
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Tang, now 34, was the last of the 12 to be released by mainland authorities after he admitted in a Shenzhen court to organising the illegal border crossing.
The court on Wednesday heard Tang, then a Lego salesman, sought help for his escape bid in a Telegram chat group titled “Valiant 2.0”, which was set up by “some active participants of the 2019 social events”.
The accused was then introduced to a person nicknamed “Fai Chung”, a Cantonese slang meaning a useless middle-aged person, who was said to have extensive involvement in the scheme.
Prosecutor Andy Lo Tin-wai said Fai Chung, who was still at large, had made HK$100,000 (US$12,790) in advance payment to buy the HK$350,000 speedboat for the 12, as well as arranging coaching sessions in piloting for Tang.
Tang also discussed with Fai Chung and other collaborators the roles the 12 would play during the illegal trip.
The defendant said he was told by Fai Chung the group would “probably” disembark in Tainan and someone would go to meet them.
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Security camera footage captured nine of the 12 escapees loading 25 buckets of petrol onto the vessel in the early hours of August 23, 2020.
The group had 20 buckets of petrol totalling 600 litres (158 gallons) when mainland coastguard officers intercepted them some 300 nautical miles (556km) from the fishing village of Po Toi O, where their journey started.
Tang told police that he had also handed over HK$240,000 to a person, identified in court only as “King Kong”, who was to remit the cash to Tang after the group arrived in Taiwan.
In mitigation, defence counsel Stephen Fong Hon-kuen asked the court to grant Tang a one-third discount in sentencing on the grounds that he had rendered full assistance to police after his return to the city.
A police statement by Tang did not lead to the arrest of other accomplices, the court heard.
Lin adjourned sentencing until mid-April and extended Tang’s remand in custody.
Perverting the course of justice is punishable by up to seven years imprisonment at the District Court level.
