Blackmailer who threatened to frame strangers for drug trafficking and assault jailed for 35 months

District Court at Wan Chai Tower. Photo (for illustration): Annette Chan/Coconuts Media
District Court at Wan Chai Tower. Photo (for illustration): Annette Chan/Coconuts Media

A 44-year-old Hong Kong man who extorted strangers out of HKD38,700 (about US$5,000) by threatening to frame them for drug trafficking or common assault was jailed for 35 months today.

The defendant, surnamed Kwan, was sentenced at the District Court earlier today, after previously pleading guilty to one count of claiming to be a triad member, one count of extortion, and two counts of theft.

In the early hours of November 6, Kwan, an unemployed father of five, deliberately hit a pedestrian with his backpack in Wan Chai, Oriental Daily reports. An accomplice pretended to bump into Kwan, and the pair claimed they were members of a local triad. Kwan then handed the victim two cigarette packets, which he claimed contained HKD1 million worth of illegal narcotics, and demanded to be paid HKD28,000 in exchange for not reporting him to the police.

Kwan brought the victim to an ATM machine and extorted him out of HKD19,200.

On November 24, Kwan bumped into another man on the streets of Wan Chai and accused him of beating his girlfriend, then claimed yet again that he was a member of a powerful triad. Despite denying the accusation, the victim agreed to meet up with Kwan later in Mong Kok to give him HKD19,500 for not exacting punishment over “his girlfriend’s beating”. After receiving the cash, Kwan reportedly stole his second victim’s phone and fled the scene.

During sentencing, the judge said Kwan’s actions were clearly premeditated and subjected his victim not only to financial loss but “hours of distress”. However, the judge reduced the sentence from 37 months to 35 in light of Kwan’s guilty plea, willingness to inform on his accomplice (despite charges never being brought due to lack of evidence), and the non-violent nature of his crimes. 

According to local media, Kwan was separately sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment earlier this year for demanding nude photographs from an 18-year-old girl in exchange for money, threatening to leak said photos, and forcing her to perform oral sex on him. The 44-year-old was found guilty of two counts of criminal intimidation, one count of procuring unlawful sex by threats, and one count of indecent assault.



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