A 23-year-old man has been sentenced to 32 months in prison for his role in a heartless "KK Park" scam where he and his accomplices exploited a mother's love for her son, ultimately defrauding her of over HK$500,000. The court condemned the man's actions as "despicable" and akin to "kicking someone while they are down."
A desperate call from "KK Park"
The case began two years ago when a young man told his mother he was leaving Hong Kong for work.
Shortly after, he called her claiming to be held captive in the infamous "KK Park" in Thailand, a known hub for human trafficking and online scams.
He instructed his mother to contact his friend, the defendant Dicky Leung Tsz-hin, to arrange a payment for his release.
The distraught mother subsequently handed over approximately HK$500,000 to the friend.
After her son returned safely to Hong Kong, a police investigation led to the arrest of Leung, who admitted under caution that he had collected the money for a HK$5,000 reward.
Arguments in court
During the sentencing at the District Court, Deputy District Judge Peter Yu Chun-sheung recounted the defense's plea for mitigation.
The defense argued that Leung, an odd-job porter with an unstable income and a pregnant girlfriend at the time, committed the crime under financial pressure.
They portrayed him as a minor player who was not the mastermind and suggested the scam would not have succeeded without the active participation of the mother's own son.
However, Yu dismissed these arguments, stating that the court would not accept the claim of the son's involvement. He lambasted the defendant and his accomplices for shamelessly preying on a mother's deep love and concern for her child.
"Taking advantage of a disaster"
The judge highlighted the severity of the case, noting the significant financial loss of around HK$530,000 suffered by the victim in just a few days, with no prospect of compensation from the defendant. He detailed how Leung had visited the mother's home, posing as an associate named "Ken," and even staged a phone call in front of her, pretending to arrange her son's rescue to gain her trust.
After receiving the money, he falsely promised her he would personally travel to Thailand to bring her son back.
Yu described Leung’s role as pivotal, not minor. He pointed out that Leung was aware the son was supposedly being held captive, yet he proceeded to extract money from the mother, an act the judge called "taking advantage of a disaster."
A history of crime
Compounding the offense, the court noted that Leung had six prior convictions, including for indecency and sexual intercourse with a girl under 13.
Crucially, he committed this fraud while on bail for a similar offense, which led the judge to add three months to his sentence, resulting in a final prison term of 32 months.
Leung was convicted of conspiracy to defraud, having illicitly obtained HK$330,000 and 25,000 Tether (USDT) from the victim between June 24 and July 1, 2024.
𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓
