I have been struggling to put pen to paper. Even when I started, I kept rewriting it and it took me a long time to finish it.
I am 28 years old and was born in Hong Kong. I grew up in a broken family. My parents divorced when I was three years old, and I have an older sister and brother. My mother emigrated abroad over 20 years ago, and there are no relatives from my father’s side here. My siblings are much older than me and left home earlier on rather than endure the discordant atmosphere of our home. In addition, my father had to work outside for a long time to support the family, this meant that I was pretty much on my own during my formative years. My father is a serious and traditional person. He made it clear when I was young that I had to “leave home at 18,” so I was deprived of the opportunity to attend university at an early age, and I left home without a solid financial foundation.
…I endured a year of homelessness. I would sleep in internet cafes at night and wash up at nearby sports centres.
Unable to find a job to support myself and without family support, I endured a year of homelessness. I would sleep in internet cafes at night and wash up at nearby sports centers. In the morning, I would drag my exhausted body to work tirelessly, all to escape this desperate quagmire as soon as possible.
Having experienced firsthand the struggle of people in dire circumstances, I couldn’t help but contrast it with my father’s affluence. Witnessing the stark contrast between poverty and wealth shaped who I became and influenced my perception of what I wanted to pursue.
With early work experience and relentless perseverance without a fallback plan, I gained recognition in the industry. In my early twenties, I secured a stable and well-paying job, and after several years of development, I even had the opportunity to take on managerial roles. In pursuit of future growth, I enrolled in study courses, hoping to expand my future options. However, it was precisely during this time that I found myself facing the ordeal of imprisonment.
During the early stages of the pandemic, due to the lockdown policy, the transportation industry I was involved in was hit hard and came to a halt. After over six months of stagnation, the financial pressure indeed caused me distress. In order to sustain my livelihood, I reached out to friends around me to inquire if they had any job referrals, but most of them were in a similar situation.
This is when I encountered a person named K. He was a friend of an old classmate I met at an internet cafe. Although I had only seen him a few times at gatherings with friends, I inferred from the sports car he drove and the watch he wore that he must lead a wealthy life. Surprisingly, he was even younger than me. With a thick-skinned approach, I decided to seek his advice.
After getting to know him better, I learned that he was a marijuana dealer. I had some friends who used marijuana, and in many places abroad, it had already been legalized, so I didn’t have a strong aversion to that particular drug. Furthermore, the person in front of me exuded confidence and appeared quite dazzling amid the economic difficulties I was facing at the time.
A new ‘job’
Under the influence and persuasion of K, I gradually started to believe that this could be the side gig that would fulfil both my financial needs and study time, with promising prospects.
After working for K for a week, I became increasingly dissatisfied. I was delivering the goods myself in my car, but after deducting the expenses for fuel, I was left with anywhere from a few hundred to HK$1,000 in daily wages. Although I was in a period of work stoppage, the current income not only turned out to be lower than my previous job, but it was also undeniably illegal, which I found intolerable.
Originally, I planned to express my dissatisfaction to K and stop working for him. Unexpectedly, he not only accepted my feedback but also showed great concern for my situation, understanding the significant pressure I was under in this economic environment. He was even “willing” to hand over to me the part of the job he was originally responsible for, to help me through this difficult period. This care and understanding were very effective for someone like me who had been lacking in such support. However, it was a sweet poison that would lead me deeper into trouble.
This “new job” was similar to regular delivery work, with the only difference being the nature of the goods being transported. Each trip paid as much as HK$1,000. The first time I delivered such a package, it was wrapped in an envelope and didn’t seem very heavy. K would provide me with the recipient’s contact information, remind me to pay attention to the details, and allow me to arrange the time and place of delivery with the recipient myself, which made me feel even more at ease and independent. Not only that, but I already received a reward of HK$5,000 on the first day of work. Not only did I earn more than my previous job, but it also saved time and effort.
This job not only solved my immediate financial needs but also provided ample time for me to focus on my studies. It even sparked the desire for prospects such as buying a new car, owning a property, and getting married. So, I proposed to K, “If the work continues to be ‘sufficiently available,’ I can fully devote myself to his tasks.” K immediately promised me job stability and even handed me HK$50,000 in cash from an envelope, allowing me to rent a better place to live. Additionally, I rented another location to store the goods. He said this would avoid constant contact and reduce risks, and he specifically reminded me to delete the conversation history on my phone. Seeing how K worried about me and took care of every detail, my trust in him grew, and I even considered him a benefactor in my life, filled with confidence for the future.
The day after renting the new warehouse, K asked me to help store the goods. He arranged for me to move the goods into the warehouse in two trips. The first trip was over 20kg, followed by another trip of over 10kg, totaling 40kg. As someone who had been working as a mover for many years, this quantity of goods was not particularly heavy or large, so I didn’t pay much attention to it.
The next day, I was instructed to go to the warehouse and deliver five items to customers. K asked me to unwrap the packaging, confirm the correct markings inside, and take photos to send to him. It was at this moment that I saw white powder inside. However, I had complete trust in K, and even though I felt very scared, I didn’t think too much about it and put the goods into my bag, wanting to finish the work as quickly as possible. As I locked the door and walked out of the building, several police officers approached me and arrested me.
As I locked the door and walked out of the building, several police officers approached me and arrested me.
Busted
When I was taken to the police station, I still didn’t know the extent of the trouble I had gotten myself into. I only knew that I had done something wrong, but I wasn’t aware of the severity of the punishment I would face. It was only when an officer on duty told me that I could face decades of imprisonment that I understood the seriousness of the situation. Upon learning the truth, I cried uncontrollably in the detention room, regretting the foolish things I had done, but it was already useless.
I had been working since I was 16 years old, and until I met K, I had always been involved in legitimate work. I had no connections to the criminal underworld or any knowledge of such matters. So, I had no concept of what these goods were or how severe the penalty could be. How could I have known that I was transporting millions of dollars worth of cocaine? If only I had realized it earlier, I wouldn’t have gotten involved in such a situation.
A new beginning
During the three years I’ve spent on remand, I have deeply reflected on the mistakes I made. I understood that there are no free lunches in this world, and whatever you want to obtain, you have to work hard for it. Things should be done step by step, and impatience should be avoided. In the end, I was punished because of greed. Most importantly, I learned to judge people with discernment. Bad people don’t have the label “bad person” written on their foreheads. Instead, they would sweet-talk you and use benefits to lure you, making you fall into a trap without realizing it. Especially when you are at your most vulnerable and difficult moments, you are more susceptible to deception. I hope that those who read this article will stay vigilant and not fall into the same scam.
Bad people don’t have the label “bad person” written on their foreheads. Instead, they would sweet talk you and use benefits to lure you, making you fall into a trap without realizing it.
After sinking into guilt and pain that I couldn’t escape for the first year, I decided to trust in Jesus Christ. After establishing my faith, I began my journey of learning again. From not understanding even the first page of a summer assignment, even the title “Exercise 1,” to receiving a B+ in the “University English Reading and Writing” course on the report card sent by Metropolitan University earlier this month, none of the time has been wasted, and all the efforts are for preparing for the future. I hope to complete my degree in the coming days. Additionally, I am also studying some Biblical Studies correspondence courses, hoping to share God’s gospel and my experiences with more young people in the church in the future, so that more people can benefit from my story and avoid the same ending.
Note: This letter has been translated and edited to improve the readability and clarity of the story. Switch language to read the letters in the original Chinese.