Tun Mun gang dismantled

Seventy-eight people, including a 13-year-old student, have been arrested in a crackdown on a gang said to have been pushing drugs to teenagers in Tun Mun.

At a press briefing Wednesday, police said undercover officers started an investigation of the gang in November. Aside from drug trafficking, the gang members were also suspected of loansharking and illegal assembly.

The 35-year-old kingpin and other core members were among those arrested in Tuesday's swoop. Thirty-one of those nabbed are secondary students, with the youngest aged only 13.

Car chase earns jail terms

A man who drove while his license was under suspension and who injured four people in a futile bid to outrun police pursuers was sentenced to two years in prison Wednesday. The accused also was disqualified from driving for five years.

The High Court heard earlier that Ng Chi-wai, a second-hand car salesman, had been indicted for traffic violations including speeding and dangerous driving more than 10 times. His license was suspended for 18 months in 2008. Still, he raced to meet a client on September 29 last year. When police ordered him to stop, he rammed his car against the police vehicle then drove off at 180 km per hour.

District Court Judge Susana D'Almada Remedios said the way Ng engaged in his movie-style car chase with police was unbelievable. He had obviously not learned from more lenient punishments, she said, making a jail term necessary.

Bombing fails to deter tourists

Four tour groups departed for Moscow Wednesday despite the government's travel warning of more terrorist attacks. Tourists said they would stay away from crowded places, adding they were not concerned about safety.

A tour escort said that the travel agency he works for has changed travel itineraries and cancelled a metro station tour.

5 injured in collision

Five were injured in the collision of a van and a minibus outside the Western Harbour Tunnel at 8 am Wednesday.

The van traveling along Western Kowloon Highway lost control while changing lane just before coming to a token booth at the Kowloon end of the tunnel. The van crashed against a minibus before knocking down fences and crashing into a lane designated for public buses.

Five people in the van, employees of a cleaning company, were injured, including the driver who was seriously hurt.

Fraud sentence postponed

Sentencing of a jobless young man who swindled some HK$54 out of Star Ferry to buy food was adjourned to May 22 at the Kowloon Magistrates' Court Wednesday, pending a social enquiry report.

The court heard earlier that Victor Chung Hok-tang reported glitches in an automatic token dispenser to Star Ferry staff and received refunds plus tickets in January. He was caught on his fourth attempt.

Chung had pleaded guilty to charges of deception. In mitigation, his lawyer said Chung had been unable to find a job as an engineer for two years, was too ashamed to ask money from his family and had committed the crimes because he was hungry.

China Daily

(HK Edition 04/01/2010 page1)