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Hong Kong couple who hid, aided 4 wanted protesters jailed for 13, 17 months

Ng Shuk-wai and Yu Hin-lam plead guilty to perverting the course of justice by hiding four fugitives ahead of their attempt to escape to Taiwan

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The District Court building in Wan Chai. Photo: Nora Tam
A Hong Kong couple have been sentenced to 13 and 17 months in jail for providing temporary refuge to four anti-government protesters and helping them hide before the fugitives attempted to flee by boat to Taiwan three years ago.

Kindergarten teacher Ng Shuk-wai and her partner, taxi driver Yu Hin-lam, both 27, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to perverting the course of justice by hiding the wanted protesters in hotel rooms and industrial units and providing their daily necessities between November 2020 and July 2022.

Yu also admitted to serving as a lookout at a friend’s request when the four entered the US consulate in October 2020 seeking protection from prosecution for unlawful acts committed during the social unrest the year before.
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District Court Judge Stanley Chan Kwong-chi said he believed the pair were victims of the “masterminds” who conned virtuous and innocent young people into joining the protests that had divided society.

Chan added that it could be reasonably inferred that the four had secured an escape route to Taiwan that would have enabled them to evade criminal sanction.

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“The quartet’s attempt to abscond, if successful, would have been a serious blow and insult to Hong Kong’s judicial process. It would also have undermined public confidence in the rule of law,” he said.

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