Wong Wai Hung
| Wong Wai Hung | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 January 1961 Hong Kong |
| 💀Died | 21 January 1994 (aged 27) Changi Prison, Singapore21 January 1994 (aged 27) |
| 🏳️ Nationality | Hongkonger |
| 💼 Occupation | Dock laborer |
| Criminal status | Executed |
Wong Wai Hung (1 January 1967 - 21 January 1994) was a Hong Kong national executed in Singapore for drug trafficking
Biography[edit]
Born in Hong Kong in 1961, Wong Wai Hung was employed as a dock labourer at the time of his arrest.
Arrest at Changi Airport[edit]
On 4 November 1988, Wong Wai Hung and his femail companion Ho So Mui arrived at Changi Airport on a flight from Bangkok. They checked in two bags at the baggage counter, and then travelled to a local hotel to spend the night.
On 5 November 1988, Wong and Ho returned to the airport to catch an 11pm flight to Zurich. After collecting their luggage, they went through security where Wong was stopped after the X Ray scanner operator flagged an issue with his bag. A inspection of his Gucci bag led to the discovery of a false bottom, which contained 32 plastic wrapped blocks of a whitish powder, later determined to be heroin, weighing a total of 8.1kg. Officers also discovered a specially designed vest and girdle with compartments to slot in the quarter kilogram sized blocks, which they believed the drugs would later be transferred into.[1]
Central Narcotics Bureau deputy director Lohman Yew was quoted as saying his organization had been tracking the couple for quite some time before they arrived in Singapore, and had been working closely with authorities in the Netherlands as well as the Office of Narcotics Control Board in Thailand regarding the case. They believed Wong and Ho were couriers working for an international drug trafficking syndicate, with The Netherlands being the drugs final destination.[2]
On 7 November 1988, Wong and Ho were charged with the trafficking of 8.1kg of heroin, with an estimated value of $5 million.[3]
Trial[edit]
On 17 August 1992, Deputy Public Prosecutor Han Cher Kwang described to the High Court how Central Narcotics Bureau officers, acting on a tip off, made an enquiry to Singapore Airlines about the flight plans of Wong and Ho in early November 1988. Their original flight to Zurich was delayed and re-scheduled for the 5 November, so plain clothes officers were waiting when they arrived to check in. Ho checked in on behalf on both of them, and the officers trailed them to the transit lounge. Both were detained when Wong's bag was discovered to have a false bottom, and further searches found approximately 4.6kg of pure heroin.[4]
Wong's defence was the bag belonged to Ho, and he had no knowledge of the drugs hidden inside. Wong claimed that Ho was in fact his wife, while Ho denied being married to him. Deputy Public Prosecutor Han Cher Kwang argued that the evidence of the surveillance leading to his arrest had proved all the essential elements of the charge against Wong. When he was arrested in the screening room he was holding the bag with the drugs, and it was he who collected the same bag from the baggage counter and had it in his exclusive possession at all times.
On 1 September 1992, Ho So Mui was acquitted by trail judge M.H. Rubin without having to call her defence. The prosecution's evidence against her was the fact she checked in and obtained boarding passes for both herself and Wong. However, her defence lawyer Sant Singh argued that the bag containing the drugs was in the sole possession of Wong the entire time, as witnesses for the prosecution had testified. Ho had neither control of nor physical possession of the bag at any point. The judge M.H. Rubin dismissed all charges against Ho, stating that the prosecution had failed to show that Ho had shared a common intention with Wong to traffic the heroin.[5]
However, on 3 September 1992, Ho So Mui was re-arrested and remanded into custody, after a request from Deputy Public Prosecutor Ismail Hamid to prevent her from attempting to leave the country before an appeal by the prosecution against her earlier acquittal was heard. Judicial Commissioner G.P. Selvam agreed to have Ho remanded, but ordered an early date for hearing the appeal. Defence lawyer Sant Singh highlighted the facts that Ho had already been held in pre trail detention for nearly 4 years, and that appeals usually took between 6 and 9 months to be heard. Further incarceration would be a gross injustice for her should the prosecution fail or the government subsequently decided to abandon the appeal, he added. [6]
On 25 September 1992, Ho So Mui was acquitted for a second time after the Appeal court upheld the original trail judge's earlier decision to dismiss the case against her.[7] Although she was technically free to go, Ho's passport had expired during her time in custody, so judge L.P Thean ordered arrangements be made to regularize her travel documentation to allow her to return to Hong Kong. Ho was then escorted to the Immigration Field Division office to enquire about a temporary Singapore visa, to allow her to move freely in the city state until she obtained her updated passport.[8]
Verdict[edit]
On 9 September 1992, Wong was found guilty as charged and sentenced to death for the trafficking of 4.6 kilograms heroin, contrary to Section 5 of the Misuse of Drugs Act. Judge M.H. Rubin rejected Wong's testimony that the bag belonged to Ho and he had no knowledge of the drugs hidden inside, remarking that his defence was not sustainable both in law and in the context of the evidence presented by the prosecution.[9]
Appeal[edit]
On 24 May 1993, the Appeal court rejected Wong's appeal against his conviction.[10]
Execution[edit]
Wong Wai Hung was hanged at Changi Prison on the morning of 21 January 1994.[11]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ "HK couple on transit caught with 8 kg of heroin". The Straits Times. 7 November 1988.
- ↑ "Woman walked in 'clean'". Straits Times (Overseas edition). 12 November 1988.
- ↑ "HK couple on drug charge". The Straits Times. 8 November 1988.
- ↑ "HK man blames 'wife' for bringing in heroin". The Straits Times. 18 August 1992.
- ↑ "Complete acquittal for 2 on capital drug charge". The Straits Times. 3 September 1992.
- ↑ "Prosecution appeal sees re-arrest of 2 acquitted". The Straits Times. 5 September 1992.
- ↑ "HK clerk freed". New Paper. 26 September 1992.
- ↑ "HK woman on capital drug charge freed a second time". The Straits Times. 26 September 1992.
- ↑ "HK labourer to hang for trying to export $5m worth of heroin". The Straits Times. 10 September 1992.
- ↑ "Hongkonger and S'porean hanged for drug trafficking". Straits Times (Overseas edition). 29 January 1994.
- ↑ "First two hanged this year". New Paper. 21 January 1994.
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