A 24-year-old man pleads guilty to speeding through immigration checkpoint in his mother’s black Ford Mustang from Shenzhen to Hong Kong
JASMINE.SIU@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 12 January, 2016, 2:11pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 12 January, 2016, 6:16pm
A 24-year-old mainland Chinese man sped through the Hong Kong-Shenzhen border in his mother's black Ford Mustang but was caught three days later in Sheung Wan. Photo: SCMP Pictures
A mainland man who dashed over the Hong Kong border in a Ford Mustang without stopping for immigration says he was desperate to leave China for fear of surveillance and political persecution, a court heard this morning.
The revelation came as Zheng Yuzhou, 24, pleaded guilty to one count of remaining in Hong Kong without the authority of the director of immigration after having landed unlawfully.
Zheng, originally from Chongqing, also admitted to driving without a driving license, driving an unlicensed vehicle and using a vehicle without a third party insurance.
“I do plead guilty,” he said in English at Fanling Court.
READ MORE: Driver who skipped border to speed into Hong Kong is seeking asylum, court hears
His case had originally been scheduled for a three-day trial, starting on March 1, after he denied all four charges last month. He had also previously said he would be seeking asylum in Hong Kong.
The court heard that Zheng drove his mother’s black Ford Mustang and sped through a Lok Ma Chau border crossing on San Sham Road on October 24 last year, without stopping for immigration and customs clearance.
Three days later, Zheng was stopped by police in Sheung Wan who found he had a People’s Republic of China passport that carried no immigration record to Hong Kong.
The Mustang was later found parked in Wong Tai Sin.
Zheng, who had no prior convictions and lived in Britain for seven years, admitted under caution that he drove from Shenzhen to Hong Kong without completing immigration procedures.
“This car is my mum’s. I was the one who drove it,” he told police, adding that he had removed the license plate so his mother would not get into trouble.
In another police interview, Zheng said he “could be under surveillance and subjected to political persecution if he stayed in China”, so he wanted to “leave as soon as possible”.
Zheng’s lawyer Phil Chau said his client has two medical reports that “quite clearly recommended two to three months’ detention at Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre”.
Mitigation and sentencing has been adjourned for two weeks until January 26, pending two fresh psychiatric reports while Zheng is remanded in the psychiatric facility.
Addressing Zheng, magistrate Raymond Wong Kwok-fai said: “I know you have some psychiatric problem as revealed in psychiatric reports. I need to call for updated reports before I sentence you”.
Zheng told the court in earlier hearings that he wanted proceedings heard in English, a language he understood better than Putonghua. He also said he came from the southern megacity of Chongqing and had lived in Britain and the United States.
According to local media reports, Zheng stated in his website that his parents were senior executives in a mainland bank and that he was a graduate from a US university.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1900083/slow-your-mustang-down-mainland-man-sped-through-hong-kong
