By Vir B. Lumicao
A “lazy” son who failed to renew his dependant visa for more
than three years and nearly dragged his elderly father to jail as a result, had
come out lucky after a magistrate in Shatin
Court
Jerykson de Leon, 27, pleaded guilty on Nov 21 to a charge
of breach of condition of stay and his Taiwanese father, Li Chi-hung, 67, to aiding and abetting the breach.
After convicting the two, magistrate Wong Sze-lai scolded
the son for his laziness.
“You overstayed in Hong Kong .
You are lazy. You are a young person, you have to work and you must not just
lie idle inside the house,” Wong said, noting that De Leon had three previous criminal
records.
The magistrate sentenced De Leon
to 16 days, suspended for a year, for overstaying in Hong
Kong for more than three years.
Li was sentenced to two months in jail, suspended for 18
months, for aiding and abetting his son’s failure to renew his visa.
In mitigation, the defense lawyer said De Leon is Li’s child with a Filipina who decided
to bring the boy back to the Philippines
In 2010, De Leon
came to Hong Kong to join his father. His visa
was due for renewal in February 2016 but he lost his passport and Hong Kong ID
card and did not bother to get them replaced.
It was Li who went to the Philippine Consulate early this
year to apply for a new passport for De Leon
Li’s counsel said the father, a night-duty security guard,
was aware of his son’s visa expiry and reminded him about it when it was time
to apply for an extension.
Li reportedly gave his son $1,000 to renew his visa but the latter
failed to do so because he had lost his passport and ID.
De Leon
But Li himself was also arrested on a charge of aiding and
abetting his son’s breach of his condition of stay.
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