Category: Letters

What will happen to my children?

I am a 24-year-old Brazilian currently in a Hong Kong prison. I have five children and grew up with separated parents, being raised by my grandparents in the interior of São Paulo. I moved to Fortaleza in 2020.

I lived with my children and worked tirelessly to support them without any help. Despite my efforts, I never received any assistance from my family. After the separation, my parents abandoned me and showed no interest in my well-being or that of my children.

A few months ago, I found myself in a moment of desperation. I was unemployed, with overdue bills and rent, and no money for food. To make matters worse, my five-month-old son had a bout of bronchitis. I spent my nights and days crying and feeling lost. It was at this moment that an acquaintance offered me a job and said that the payment would be of great help to me.

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Locked up, lockdown, locked up again

I am 47 years old and originally from Nigeria. I first came to Hong Kong in 2010 and was subsequently arrested for drug trafficking at the Hong Kong International Airport. I pleaded guilty to the charge and served my sentence until my release from prison in 2018. Since then, I have stayed in the city and lived as an asylum seeker.

In 2019, when the Covid pandemic struck, family and friends who were financially supporting me lost their jobs. Moreover, I used to earn a small amount of money helping people that came from Africa to buy second-hand electronics goods, but they stopped coming to Hong Kong because of the pandemic. I started having difficulty meeting my basic daily needs, and then in 2020, my girlfriend informed me that she was pregnant. This made the situation worse, and as a result, I began looking for help.

In desperation to earn money, I turned to some old clients whom I used to help since they couldn’t come to Hong Kong due to the pandemic. However, some of these clients reduced their orders because of lockdowns in their countries, and they couldn’t sell the previous goods they had ordered through me because their shops were closed.

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The plight of a victim of a Nigerian drug ring

I am a domestic worker and I have been on remand for two years as a result of trusting a man from Nigeria who took advantage of me. These people only want to gain your trust so they can use you for their illegal activities. Unfortunately, I am not the only victim. Many Filipina and Indonesian women are also in prison because of this Nigerian ring.

I want to bring this to the attention of the Hong Kong authorities in order to warn them about this Nigerian ring. We all admit that we were foolish to trust them, but I believe that God will help us because only He knows the truth.

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Double the mistake, double the shame

I am a 40-year-old man who works as a porter and earns HK$25,000 per month. On July 14, 2022, the day I received my salary, I was arrested by a plainclothes officer. Prior to my arrest, I had used HK$5,000 to purchase some ketamine and cocaine, roughly 3.95g and 1.9g respectively.

Although I had only intended to bring these drugs home for me and my friends, my lawyer informed me that this still counts as a trafficking offense. As a result, I am facing a minimum sentence of three years. The sentence for trafficking 0-10 grams of ketamine is two to four years, which means that based on the amount I had, my sentence will be between two years and six months to two years and eight months. The sentence for trafficking 0-10 grams of cocaine is two to five years. Since I had both types of drugs on me, an additional six months will be added to my sentence.

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Finding forgiveness at the cross

I grew up in a Christian family. Although I went to church with my parents, I felt that religious faith was out of reach and untouchable. My mother was a college principal, and my father was a professor. I used to be an obedient child, but as I grew up, I faced many challenges and temptations.

While studying for a Nursing degree at the University of Hong Kong, I developed a heavy dependence on smoking, drinking, and relationships with men. One summer, while partying at a nightclub, I tried drugs and soon became addicted.

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The package that stole my freedom

I am currently 25 years old and I have been in remand for over nine months on drug trafficking charges. When I was first arrested, I was very confused. I didn’t know anything about drugs, and I had no idea about the trial process or sentencing details. Learning that I might be sentenced to over twenty years imprisonment for the 1.8 kg of drugs found in the package I picked up left me feeling hopeless.

I grew up in a lower-middle-class family with one older brother. My father worked as a chef, while my mother stayed home to take care of the household. My parents would often argue due to financial issues, and they constantly instilled in us the belief that “money is extremely important, without it we cannot survive.” This made me eager to earn money and alleviate the financial burden on my family. My family was also relatively introverted, and we did not communicate much about personal matters, which led me to develop a more independent personality.

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Ten years of recklessness

I am a 32-year-old mother of three. I have been on remand for 24 months for trafficking dangerous drugs (methamphetamine), awaiting sentencing.

Family separation

My parents divorced when I was about seven years old. I lived with my grandparents, but I kept a very good relationship with my mom. Although I seldom saw her, I loved her very much. My mother remarried when I was in grade three. She moved to England with her new husband for a while. I pretended like nothing happened when I said goodbye to her at the airport. However, I secretly cried after she left. I remember she sent me a letter with £10 in it for my birthday that year. I cried each time I read through the letter. Six months later, my mom divorced again, returned to Hong Kong and I moved back to live with her. During primary school, I was a top-performing student, consistently ranking in the top ten of my class. In addition to my academic pursuits, I participated in many after-school activities and learned to play musical instruments. Piano lessons were paid for by my grandparents.

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Scapegoat on wheels: 14 years behind bars

I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and found myself wheelchair-bound. My financial situation was dire, and I was desperate for money. An old friend suggested that I deliver drugs and introduced me to a man from India who promised to inform me when he had drugs to deliver. The pay was HK$20,000 to HK$30,000 per run, but I was still unsure whether I should take the job.

One night, my friend called me twice in the early hours of the morning, but I did not answer. When I called him back the next day, he asked if I had anything to do. I told him I had to go to the hospital for an MRI. He then asked me to call him again after my examination, and when I did, he offered me a drug delivery job for HK$50,000. I agreed without thinking twice.

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Easy money, harsh consequences

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.

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Path of regret: A mother’s struggle with drug addiction and redemption

I am a 43-year-old woman who grew up in a normal and healthy family with my parents and six siblings. I first encountered drugs when I was around 16 or 17 years old. A schoolmate from a higher grade let me try cocaine for the first time. After graduating from Form 5, I started working as a salesperson and continued to support my drug habit by using my salary to purchase cocaine. I attempted to join a voluntary drug detoxification program twice, but was unsuccessful. I just couldn’t manage to detoxify within only 14 days.

Later on, I met my current husband, who knew about my drug addiction and hoped I could quit. Unfortunately, my addition had a strong grip on me and I was unable to overcome it. We have three children, but I continued to use cocaine. Continue reading Path of regret: A mother’s struggle with drug addiction and redemption

The Jade Exchange

I am writing from a correctional institution, where I am on remand awaiting trial. I’m being charged with “trafficking in dangerous drugs”.

Allow me to share my story.

My accomplice and I were acquainted through an online recruitment ad. We were assigned to travel to Brazil and Kuala Lumpur respectively. Our recruiter first asked my accomplice to pick up a package of jade from Brazil and then travel back to Hong Kong.

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Rollercoaster life

This is my first time writing a letter. Let me introduce myself. 

I have been on remand for one and a half years for drug trafficking. I’ve lost a lot during this time.

I couldn’t face my dad at first and I only agreed to let him visit me a month ago. It has been a roller coaster ride for me but I’ve felt more relieved once I started seeing my dad again although he doesn’t bring me much good news. Bad things keep piling on me. My girlfriend decided to end our relationship, and my grandmother got into an accident that has gotten her paralysed. All of these things happened within the same month.

I blame myself for not being able to do anything at moment. If I were out there, perhaps my grandmother wouldn’t have gotten into that accident. And if I were out there, my girlfriend wouldn’t have left me. I’m very lost with all these questions.

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Deconstructing my future

I hope my story will remind people not to get involved in drug trafficking activities. 

I used to be a construction worker but I lost my job at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. At around the same time, the rest of my family members also lost their jobs. I heard from some friends about a way to earn “quick cash”. In my desperation, I made the wrong and regretful decision to get into drug trafficking. The money did come quickly, but I now know it was not worth it at all. I hurt a lot of people, especially my family, and I also lost my freedom.

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A mother’s gamble

I left Sao Paulo on June 28, 2022, for Hong Kong where I was caught with drugs at the airport. I had never done anything so wrong in my life.

I was motivated to do this because of financial problems. I needed to save my son from a gambling debt. Online games today are where many young people in Brazil surrender to addiction. My son is 21 years old and was working when I found out he owed a lot of money to the online gambling bank. Because of this, my son left town so I was worried. Faced with this problem, an old acquaintance told me that I could earn money doing this job, that it would be quick and easy, so out of desperation I accepted.

I was aware of what I was doing, but I didn’t know the consequences. Continue reading A mother’s gamble

Don’t play with your life

I got arrested for drug trafficking and I have been on remand for over two years now. I am very grateful for this opportunity to share my story, hoping my experience will reach young people and change their way of life and not attempt drug trafficking or drug use.

I grew up in a low-income family. I have five siblings with me being the youngest. We rarely talked and I didn’t want to listen to my parents. When I was in school, I was very naughty. I would call the school to report myself sick and then go hang out in Internet cafes, arcades, or pool halls.

I met some friends during this period, and eventually joined a gang. We did a lot of illegal things. Our gang boss would take us around to hang out and play. 

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