Mechanic gets 10 months in jail for blackmailing prostitute

A mechanic was convicted of blackmail and handed a 10-month prison sentence today for threatening to upload nude pictures of a sex worker unless she paid HK$10,000 (about US$1,280).

The man, 33 year-old Li Tak-cheung, had previously tried to claim the cash he demanded was, in fact, a refund he was owed because her services did not meet his satisfaction.

Today, however, his lawyer told Kowloon City Magistrates’ Court that Tak had learned a valuable lesson, and nowwanted to apologize to the victim, according to on.cc.

The defense also added that while Li lost his job as an aircraft maintenance technician, some companies were willing to take him on as a junior clerk should the court allow him to start a new life, Apple Daily reported.

The magistrate overseeing the case, Veronica Heung Shuk-han, was unconvinced, noting that although the defendant comes from a good background, he had not pleaded guilty to the crime. The judge also refused his application for bail.

A psychological report on Li said that the defendant did not feel any sympathy towards the victim.

The saga began in May when Li paid HK$10,000 for the prostitute’s services, with Li alleging that she agreed to have sex with him twice that night followed by breakfast the next morning. However, Li claimed he only got to have sex once, and the pair did not have breakfast together.

However, this was contradicted by testimony from the prostitute, who said there was no agreement as to how many times they could have sex, then produced a message sent by Li warning her that he would tell her family that she is a sex worker and upload nude photos of her to online message board HKGolden.

Defense lawyers also previously argued that both of Li’s ex-“girlfriends” had been sex workers, and that he has never tried a “normal relationship”.

During the trial, Heung described the prostitute as honest and reliable, and called Li’s statements contradictory, saying he described his relationship with the prostitute as “boyfriend and girlfriend” one minute, then “customer and sex worker” the next.



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