I’m from Malaysia. In November 2019 I traveled to Hong Kong to attend a direct-sales event.
While in the city, I befriended a Hong Kong man who was introduced to me by a friend in Malaysia. I had only met this guy twice outside a mall when he asked me to help him collect two packages from the nearby post office.
On November 27 I headed from my hotel in Chungking Mansions to the post office on Middle Road, Tsim Sha Tsui.
The postal staff at counter 19 refused to give me the parcels as my identity did not match that of the addressee. I showed the staff an email the Hong Kong friend gave me for collecting the packages, but it wasn’t accepted. I left the post office and called my friend who told me to obtain a receipt from my hotel bearing my name, and to change my address – Flat A3, 7/F Chungking Mansions – to match the address on the parcels: Flat A1/8/F Chungking Mansions.
With the paper on hand (I did as he told me), I returned to the post office to show them the address proof. This time around, the staffer at counter 19 handed me the parcels. One package was from France, the other from the USA.
I called the contact person right away. He asked me to wait for him near the entrance. As I talked with him I headed out of the post office and once I stepped out, a Customs officer apprehended me.
The Customs officer caught me in front of the post office because I signed to receive the packages suspected to contain dangerous drugs.
The Customs officer caught me in front of the post office because I signed to receive the packages suspected to contain dangerous drugs. I was handcuffed and taken to a car. I was asked who was the owner of the packages and if I knew what was inside. I told him I was helping a Hong Kong friend collect the packages and did not know what it was. A senior officer inquired where I came from and whether I’m married. I replied that I’m from Malaysia and I indeed had a wife. He then told me if I wished to go home to see her, I should “cooperate with his colleague, otherwise, I would be in trouble.”
They interrogated me in the car for about 40 minutes and then they brought me back to my hotel room to search it. The officers again asked me if the drugs belonged to me, and I reiterated that I did not know what the content of the packages was.
An hour later, seven or eight officers came into my room and continued their search and interrogation. The result of their investigation concluded that the drugs belonged to me since I would receive HK$8,000 for collecting the parcels. The incident was written down, and I was asked to initial and date it. I was very scared and didn’t read the record in detail before signing.
On the same day, at around 6 pm, I was taken to the Customs Headquarters where they would continue their interrogation. They kept me in a room, waiting for the officers to check the contents of the parcels. A Mandarin-speaking translator came in and sat next to me, telling me everything that was happening.
After a few hours, an officer from the Narcotics Bureau came in to take photos of me and the drugs, including the two handphones I had used to contact the Hong Kong friend. I signed a document and was then taken to a room where they would video-record my statement. Before I started the recording, the Customs officer advised me that if I wished to complete the procedure faster so that I would be heard by the court the next day, I should say “Not willingly”, “Don’t agree”, or “No opinion” to his questions. After the recording was done, they sent me to the Police Station in Tsim Sha Tsui. My translator told me that those documents I signed and the recording I made didn’t mean I pled guilty.
I arrived at the Police Station early the next morning at around 4:30 am and at 7:30 am I was taken to Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts. I requested to be released on bail but was refused by the judge. From there, I was sent to Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre where I await my trial.
Note: This letter has been translated and edited where appropriate to improve readability while being careful to retain all factual details accurately.
