Blackmailer jailed 16 months for threats to poodle.
On 1 December 2020, a former vegetable stall owner was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to one count of blackmail at the West Kowloon Magistracy (Case Number: WKCC 3089/2020). It was the prosecution’s case that Lau Tsz Kit, 24, kept a ten-month-old poodle named Coffee away from its owner, and threatened to chop up the dog if the owner did not pay a HK$40,000 ransom.
Coffee’s owner, Ms. Ding, is the owner of a shop located in Sham Shui Po and would sometimes bring Coffee to the shop. CCTV footage revealed that Coffee was removed by three men from the shop at around 1 a.m. on 5 September, when Ms. Ding was hosting a party inside the shop.
Lau claimed to have received Coffee from a person named Ah Tai, who offered to pay Lau HK$500 per day for taking care of Coffee. After Lau took over Coffee, Ah Tai subsequently offered Lau an extra HK$5,000 for Lau to make the threats to Ms. Ding.
Lau approached MS. Ding through Facebook by sending pictures of Coffee and demanding her to pay a HK$40,000 ransom. When Ms. Ding failed to make the payment, Lau told Ms. Ding he would chop up Coffee and send the remains to her. Lau also threatened to toss Coffee into the sea and told her he was losing his patience.
Ms. Ding informed the police about the threats and scheduled to meet Lau in person to pay the ransom. Upon investigation, Police located Lau’s residence in Tin Shui Wai and arrested him as he was leaving his home on 11 September 2020. The police conducted a search inside and found Coffee, who was unharmed and in good health.
Lau stated in his mitigation that he committed the crime due to his economic difficulties, and that he did not mistreat Coffee.
In sentencing Lau to 16 months’ imprisonment, Magistrate Jeffrey Sze Cho-yiu stated that the crime was pre-meditated and Lau in fact had previous convictions involving dishonesty. Since there was a need to protect animals from being harmed for illegal gains, a sentence with deterrent effect must be given.
Blackmailing is a crime punishable for up to 14 years of imprisonment in Hong Kong.
Courtesy of Louis Cheung
Sources: HK01; Apple Daily
Previous report: HKALPO News