I’ve been imprisoned for almost a year and I feel much remorse for what I did…for the unwise decisions that brought me to this situation.
Between the time I graduated from high school to the time before I got arrested, I used to hang out regularly with a few close friends from high school once or twice per month. Even during the pandemic, we would still get together.
At the beginning of the pandemic, all businesses went downhill. I was a full-time demolition worker and also worked part-time as an Uber driver. When the Covid-19 outbreak gripped Mainland China, all major delivery services were greatly affected. Many goods could not be delivered to Hong Kong, which greatly affected my income. There was a time when I only had work for ten days in a month, and I got paid on a daily basis when there was a job for me. Even my close friends were in a similar situation thus, they couldn’t really offer me help.
This situation had been going on for about seven months when I got introduced to someone new at a friend’s gathering. “X”, my new acquaintance, and I became friends and stayed in touch frequently. When X learned about my situation, he suggested I earn some money by distributing drugs with him. I refused it right away, and X didn’t mention anything to me again after that time.
X and I kept in touch as usual and we went out to dinner from time to time. On one occasion, X was in a hurry after dinner and asked if I could give him a ride to where he was headed. I thought it was within close proximity and he seemed to be in such a big rush. As I was driving him, X seemed to be very busy and kept answering phone calls throughout the ride. When we arrived, I saw him take out something wrapped in tissue paper from his trousers’ pocket and hand it over to someone outside my car window. The person gave X HK$1,000. As soon as the exchange was over, I asked X if what he had given were illegal drugs. He admitted it right away, and said “Isn’t it easy money? Let’s work together!” Indeed it seemed easy. It would probably be fine if I did this just for a few months.
I believed in him at the time. Who would have thought he disappeared completely as soon as I got put on remand?
I then started this illegal job as a “drug distributor”. I didn’t know anything about drugs at the start. X taught me everything, including how to sort out the different drug types and how much to charge. I earned HK$38,000 during the first month and thought it was indeed very easy money.
X asked me to get more involved so that I could earn even more money. He said I could earn a few thousand dollars by only going to 5-6 places on a single day. I thought it wasn’t that terrible of a job after the first month. So I agreed.
One day, X told me to do a drug run. Upon arriving at the location, and as I was waiting for a guy to pick up the drugs, I saw the police. I decided to drive around and wait for the police to leave before going back. To my misfortune, there was a police roadblock and I got stopped for an inspection. The police found drugs on me during a body search. I got arrested on the spot and sent to the police station for interrogation.
A lawyer arrived later, and told me that X had arranged for him to come, and told me not to worry about anything. X said he would arrange for compensation if I was imprisoned. I believed in him at the time. Who would have thought he disappeared completely as soon as I got put on remand? I could not find him at all, He just vanished.
My friends came to visit and said X’s phone was no longer in service. They even went to his home to look for him but in vain. My friends also didn’t know he was doing such illegal business. They even scolded me for being so stupid and asked why I was deceived by X. Since then, my friends have also left me and have not visited me again. From then on, only my father and my stepmother come to visit me.
I still regret it and live with guilt every day. Why was I so naive, and ruined my future for earning some quick money? I also feel very sorry to have done this to my family. I promised them to stay away from any drug-related activities, but here I am, incarcerated because of drugs.
I have a son who is only 3 years old, and I’m not there to take care of him when he needs me the most. I’m also guilty about troubling my father and my stepmother to visit me. It takes them four hours to travel back and forth. They still got their full-time jobs, and they now have to spend the weekends coming and visiting me instead of resting at home.
There are consequences for every choice we make. I sincerely hope that my story can help warn young people not to choose a path with no return. You’re not the only one to face the consequences, but your loved ones will also suffer.
Don’t make the same mistakes I’ve made and regret them later.
Note: This letter has been translated and edited from its original in Chinese. Switch language to read the original letter.