Category: Letters

From Sunbeds to Shackles

I am from the island of Mallorca, Spain, and was arrested at Hong Kong International Airport for carrying in my suitcase pills containing an illegal substance known as “ecstasy” — specifically about 14,000 pills with a total weight of 2.367 kg.

I am currently 58 years old and held at Stanley Prison, awaiting a Supreme Court hearing for sentencing, having voluntarily pleaded guilty.

I wish to share the story of my life and explain how I made the mistake that placed me in this unnatural situation as a prisoner in Hong Kong.

Continue reading From Sunbeds to Shackles

Turned to dust by “powdered gold”

I am writing to share my story from the Federal Republic of Côte d’Ivoire in West Africa. My family was very poor, and I became an orphan at a young age. I am now a mother of three children—my eldest is fifteen, my second is five, and my youngest is two years and four months old, born via Caesarean section.

I have three sisters from the same mother. Our mother died during childbirth when I was very young, so I never knew her. My father passed away in a motor accident, leaving us orphaned. Life became extremely difficult for my sisters and me.

After our parents’ deaths, my eldest sister moved to town to work as a babysitter. I stayed in the village with another sister, where we fetched water for widows and elderly people to earn money for food. None of us attended school. Our uncle provided no support, while his own children went to school and mocked us for our work.

Continue reading Turned to dust by “powdered gold”

From clothes seller to drug courier

I am 45 years old, born in Tanzania in the Mbeya region, Kyela district. In a family of 11 children, I am the 10th child.

I got married when I was 17 years old and was blessed with four children, all of whom are boys. But when I was pregnant with my last child, that is when my life changed until today where I am here in prison. When I was three months pregnant, I went to the hospital to start the antenatal care. When you are pregnant in Tanzania, you must test for HIV. I tested and was found to be infected with the HIV virus.

When I returned home and explained the HIV test results to my husband and asked him to test as well, he angrily refused to get tested saying he is safe and has no infection. Since I was the one infected, I entered this situation on my own, and my life changed. He started drinking heavily and beating me a lot.

Continue reading From clothes seller to drug courier

Manipulated by my naiveté

I used to trust people easily, thinking everyone was good. Perhaps it was due to my naiveté and lack of experience. I was born into a respectable family during a difficult time in my country, marked by conflict and crisis. This forced us to move constantly.

I studied from a young age with the goal of becoming a professional. I graduated, completed my military service, and then entered university to study commercial engineering. I worked during the day in private security and had several close friends from university.

I didn’t understand how illegal businesses operated or how seemingly good people could professionally deceive and manipulate others.

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A truck-full of lies

I was born in 1989 in western Mongolia. I lived with my wife and our two-and-a-half-year-old son. My wife graduated from university in 2011 and works as an accountant, earning a monthly income. I work as a heavy truck driver, and my monthly income is around 3 million tugrug. Together, our household income is substantial for our country (approximately $1280 USD). Our immediate and extended families all live in the same area. We were married in 2020, and I finished building our house in 2019, thanks to my job.

In my entire life, I had never had any trouble with the law. I’ve never used drugs or abused alcohol, and I have spent my life working and caring for my family. My international travel was limited to five trips: a one-week holiday in Russia, three work trips to China in 2014, 2016, and 2018, and the trip in question to South America and Hong Kong between May 30 and June 6, 2024.

I went on the trip with the hope of earning extra money for my family. When I left Mongolia, I was unaware that I was being recruited to transport drugs. I was lied to, and only upon arrival in South America was I forced to transport dangerous drugs inside my body.

Continue reading A truck-full of lies

Free Thailand holiday trap

The incident occurred in April 2024.  

I was in debt to the bank for about 200,000 HKD due to accumulated medical expenses for my mother-in-law cancer treatment. At the time, I had a quarrel with my wife and she asked for a divorce. I was feeling extremely down. Suddenly, I received a phone call offering a free trip including airfare and hotel  to Thailand. Desperate for any form of escape, I accepted the offer, failing to recognize it as the precise moment I was targeted for exploitation.

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The nail that sealed my coffin

I am 76 years old and I was born in Lima, Peru. I am single and I have two children, one 45 years old and a 35-year-old daughter, but I have not heard anything from them in more than 30 years. My closest relative is (or was?) My 65-year-old sister, who had been hospitalized for breast cancer since before my trip to Hong Kong. Now I don’t know if he’s still alive because I have no way to call, since I don’t remember the numbers because they are on the phone that the police seized and there is no way to get it back or to be able to ask for the numbers, since it is part of the evidence.

I lived in Lima in a family house, but I was robbed by bad people and I was left living on the street. I didn’t have a job since at my age it’s difficult to find a job. Sometimes I was a security guard for cars and I could get to eat and sleep in a hotel of 20 soles a night (something like 8 dollars USD). Sometimes I had to beg for food at a restaurant when they were about to close.

Just one of those days, a man saw me in the restaurant asking for food. I remember him staring at me and, when I left, he came out to meet me a few meters from there and called me.

Continue reading The nail that sealed my coffin

The cigarette that burned down my life

A Personal Warning

Stay Clear of Crime and Traffickers

My name is KTB, and I want to share my story with you, not just to tell you what happened to me, but to serve as a warning to help you avoid the same fate. I made a series of bad choices, believing in quick money and trusting the wrong people, and now I am paying a heavy price. I hope my experience can help you think twice before walking down a similar path.

The Beginning: A Chance Encounter that Changed Everything

It all started around Christmas time in 2022. I was in Lan Kwai Fong, enjoying a night out when I met a guy we’ll call “X.” Our first interaction was simple as I asked for a cigarette, and that small gesture led to a conversation. We talked about tattoos, clothes, and shared common interests. X was easy to talk to, and he gave me the feeling of an older brother figure, someone who understood life and seemed to have experience. We exchanged phone numbers, and after that night, we occasionally kept in touch.

At first, our conversations were casual. X told me he worked in high-end liquor sales selling spirits and whisky, dealing with wealthy clients, fancy dinners, and luxury lifestyles. He made it sound so glamorous, and I thought that maybe if I stuck with him, I could learn something new or even find a job that would make me proud. I was curious, eager to try something different, and naïve enough to believe I could learn from him.

Continue reading The cigarette that burned down my life

Freedom, how wonderful

The moment you become an inmate, you begin to recognize your mistakes and cherish your past life.

You realize that before committing any act, you need to think 150 times. “Is this necessary?”

You realize that there is no such thing as a hopeless situation. There is only one truly hopeless situation—when they are screwing the lid shut on your coffin. Everything else is SOLVABLE.

If you think your life is terrible—evaluate your surroundings. Tell me who your friend is, and I will tell you who you are.

Start reading. Change your worldview. Write down your thoughts. Learn new foreign languages for yourself. Forget the phrase “no time.” Forget it! There is plenty of time; you just don’t notice it or you waste it on nonsense. Establish a routine. Set an alarm with a terrible melody so you have to jump out of bed and turn it off immediately. Then you will get used to waking up at the same time.

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The heavy burden of light decisions – PART 2

This is a second letter from a previous post

Three months have passed since my arrest, along with my beloved partner.

We are from Ukraine, and our family is there, where the war has been ongoing for over two years. I worry every day about my family, and about my little son. You never know which home a rocket will strike.

I find myself behind bars, without internet, a phone, or contact with my relatives.

I don’t know how to hold a pen in my hands.

I feel terrible when I see news about my country, but I cannot call my mother to find out if everything is okay. I was very worried about how my mother’s heart would react when she learned that her daughter and son-in-law were deprived of freedom due to their own foolishness. I am scared that something might happen to them and I won’t find out.

Or that I will find out, but too late.

Continue reading The heavy burden of light decisions – PART 2

The heavy burden of light decisions – PART 1

In 2019, we moved to Poland for work because we couldn’t find employment in our small town in the Odesa region of Ukraine. Our initial six-month visa expired just as the coronavirus pandemic began, but we were given special documents that allowed us to stay. We later applied for the Karta Pobytu (residence permit).

On February 22, 2022, we received our residence cards and planned a trip home to see our family, especially our son. Two days later, February 24, 2022, the war in Ukraine began.

Our family was strongly against us returning due to the Russian invasion. My mother assured us they were safe and our town was protected. We decided to stay and work, believing the war wouldn’t reach them. We mainly worked in large warehouses and factories. Our income covered rent, food, and utilities, and we managed to send some money home, though not as often as we wished.

Our major mistake was not knowing how to save. Whenever life brought a problem—a sudden toothache, a broken car, delayed wages, or reduced work hours—we ran into financial trouble. Over four years in Poland, we accumulated significant debt. We managed to make payments, but the burden was heavy. Every winter brought problems, preventing us from celebrating my December birthday, the New Year, and even my partner’s birthday. We realized that money was the solution to all our issues.

Continue reading The heavy burden of light decisions – PART 1

A reckless game

I am 21 this year. I was born in mainland China and came to Hong Kong with my mother in 2018, when I started Form 1. Due to cultural differences and being a transfer student, I struggled academically and socially. With my mother working long hours, I spent my time at billiard halls and game centers. I dropped out after two months and began hanging out with friends I met outside school.

I was skilled at billiards and spent most of my time at the hall, where I met older friends who treated me well. My daily expenses came from the HK$100 my mother left me each morning before her 12-hour cleaning shifts. Before leaving each day, she would always tell me, “If you can’t study well, then just find a proper job. Don’t keep wandering outside with bad people who’ll lead you astray!” But I treated those words like noise in the background, thinking, “How could I possibly run into bad people?”

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Time is priceless

I have been imprisoned in a correctional facility after being arrested in December 2022 for the offence of trafficking dangerous drugs.

During this time, I happened to learn about this anti-drug campaign and realized that it could help warn others not to get involved in drug trafficking or suffer its consequences like me. That is why I chose to participate in this meaningful program.

When I was 13 years old and had just entered my first year of secondary school, I came into contact with drugs because of bad company. At first, I only used them occasionally, but because of the drugs I later lost interest in studying and became rebellious. At 18, I was sent to a rehabilitation center for drug possession, and since then, I have been in and out of prison countless times. I had no idea how or why my life had become such a mess. I couldn’t escape the temptation of drugs, and I have already lost so much because of them.

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Passed around like a ball

When I was still a baby, I was abandoned by my parents and left alone at home until an auntie and the police broke in and rescued me. After that, my life became a story of being passed around like a ball from one relative to another. One relative would look after me for a while, then another, with no stable home.

When I was very young, I already heard a lot of cold remarks and criticisms about my parents, saying my parents were drug addicts, triad members, and bad people.

Later, some relatives even spoke badly about my grandmother, saying she gave birth to my mother just to serve others, and now she has another grandchild who is “handless and footless” (a derogatory way to describe helplessness). I remember from age four to eight when my grandmother looked after me: my grandfather was a film lighting technician and was often out of the house for long periods. My grandmother worked in the costume department of a TV station from 10am to 10pm, so I went to kindergarten on my own by taking the school bus downstairs and came home by myself. When I got home, my grandmother would leave food on the table before going to work. This was my life until I was eight years old, when grandmother sent me over to my great-aunt, who lived in a different district, so I also changed schools.

Things improved a bit then because my great-aunt had many children who could help me with homework, but it was still hard because before that, no one cared if I did homework, tests, or dictation, so my grades were always poor, and I was unmotivated to learn. A year later, halfway my Primary 4 year, I moved into a children’s home and stayed there until Secondary 2.

One day, after school, when I came back to the home, I saw my grandparents, a woman, and a man. The woman was my mother, and the man was my stepfather. They said there was a special meeting because they wanted to take me to live with them. Of course, I was willing – it was so new and exciting! Wow! I finally had a mom and a dad.

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Drugs, prostitution and trafficking – my life since I was 12 years old

I am imprisoned in Hong Kong for drug trafficking.

From a very young age I have faced many difficulties. My mother is an alcoholic and because of that I was raised in a home where there was no peace.

Without a father figure, I started facing problems. At school, I always had issues with other students. I was a very rebellious teenager but had good grades. I had friendships that introduced me to drugs, and I started using cocaine when I was just 11 years old.

With no one to intervene, I continued down that path and started selling drugs. I started dating a man who encouraged me to run away from home and taught me how to use other types of drugs like heroin, and at 12 years old, I had my first overdose. My  boyfriend took me to the hospital and abandoned me there alone, because I was under 18 and hospitalized for an overdose—the responsible adult with me would be held legally accountable. To not take this responsibility, he left me alone at the hospital.

Weak and without strength to defend myself, he beat and raped me, stole all my money and threw me out of the house, dressed only in underwear and a bra.

Continue reading Drugs, prostitution and trafficking – my life since I was 12 years old