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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1982
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Exhadelia file, pl:
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
Mother abandoned sons in 'cry for help'
A 31-year-old mother abandoned her two baby sons as a cry of help over her husband's primitive attitudes on medicinal treatment for their children, the Causeway Bay Court was told yesterday.
Poon King-man pleaded guilty before Mr Howard Duffus to two counts of abandoning her two sons, aged three months and 20 months.
that Poon's motive was a cry for help rather than a sustained attempt to abandon her children.
She had left them in conspicuous areas. It was a desperate bid, like committing suicide to get attention, said Mr Duffus.
Poon disapproved of her husband's primi- tive and superstitious Chinese herbal methods of treating the children whenever they were ill.
Together with his mother, he would feed them ashes of burnt "magical" papers. Sehlenged to two months imprisonment at Western Court yesterday for smuggling 233 silver coins into Hongkong.
Mr Duffus deferred sentencing for two weeks pending reports from a probation offi-
end a psychologist. rts's ungerpriali vere, found at the scene in nine of the 16 burglaries.
He was arrested on Octo- ber 12 in Central Building.
Some of the stolen items were recovered during a search of his home, while many others were traced to various pawn shops.
Tse had 11 previous con- victions.
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Chow Shung-chai pleaded guilty before Mr M.D. Hill to a charge of importing unmanifested cargo.
The court was told that marine police stopped a fishing vessel, the Chu Hoi 0358, on Saturday at the western entrance to the Aberdeen typhoon shelter.
The coins were discovered after the ship had been searched and Chou admitted he was the owner.
Chou had bought the coins, valued at about $10,000, from Heung Chau for sale in Hongkong.
'Despicable' old folk theft
A watchman's attempt to steal from seven old people in a home was yesterday con- demned by a Causeway Bay Court magistrate.
Tsui Hung-fai (40) plead- ed guilty before Mr M. Saied to six counts of attempted theft and one of stealing $4 from Mr Wong Tai-han,
Mr Saied sentenced Tsui to six months' imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, on each charge.
The magistrate described as despicable Tsui's act of stealing from those he was supposed to guard.
He said Tsui should be sent to jail, but because he
1
had a clear record and had
given a chance. pleaded guilty, he would be
Tsui was ordered to pay $300 costs.
The court was told that on Friday at 1.50 am Tsui, who was employed as a watchman at the Aberdeen Rehabilita- tion Centre, Welfare Road, was seen by a part-time staff member, Mr Cheng Chi- shun, ransacking cupboards belonging to four inmates.
The inmates were old and severely infirm.
Mr Cheng at the time could not be sure if Tsui had stolen anything, so he fol- lowed when Tsui went into another room.
He saw Tsui search
through the shirt pockets of two elderly inmates and pro- ceed to another cupboard, where he stole $4 belonging to Mr Wong.
W
His actions woke up Mr Vong, who immediately rais- ed a wooden plank to hit him.
Mr Cheng rushed forward turbed the other inmates. to separate them, asking them to be quiet in case they dis-
In the morning Mr Cheng principal of the centre, who in reported the incident to the turn informed the police.
needed the money to support In mitigation Tsui said he his baby daughter.
more harm than good.
Mr Duffus noted that Poon had not bat- tered her children and was not suffering from a mental illness.
She had, however, limited intelligence and resources to cope with her family situation.
The court was told earlier that at about 8 pm on October 4, Mr Wan Yan-kwok, a member of the staff at the Bunns Games Centre, Shaukiwan, found a three-month-old baby on the staircase leading to the centre.
The baby was later taken to Chuk Yuen
The two accused were re- manded in police custody.
Moves to
extradite
seaman
Extradition proceedings against a seaman accused of murder on board a Liberian- registered vessel will begin on December 30.
The date was fixed by Mr Court yesterday. R.N. Hawkes at Kun Tong
Crown counsel Adrian Bell told the court that relevant papers had been received from the Liberian Government and the Governor's order to pro- ceed with the case had been issued.
journed from September 13 pending the arrival of the
The case had been ad-
papers.
Lam Wai-ting (34) is al- leged to have murdered a 33- board the Lagos Venture year-old fellow-crewman on while the ship was in the In- dian Ocean on July 31.
Lam was remanded in jail custody.
agreed to file.
hawker, went to the police and ide children after he was tipped off by friends.
Poon was subsequently admitted Elizabeth Hospital because of he mental instability.
Initial inquiries by the police the fact that Poon collected her y from United Hospital on October committed the first offence.
She abandoned the baby on the and lied to her husband that the c
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