Mercy and justice: Hong Kong grandmother who hid undocumented grandson for nine years given suspended jail sentence
Chow Siu-shuen given suspended jail sentence for helping grandson overstay for nine years after court hears his plea not to break up family
A grandmother who helped her 12-year-old mainland grandson live illegally in Hong Kong for nine years was spared an immediate prison sentence - a decision the magistrate said was based on both "mercy and law".
Chow Siu-shuen, 66, was sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for three years, after admitting one charge of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring a breach of conditions of stay for her grandson Xiao Youhuai.
The pair's case gripped the city when it was revealed in May.
The boy - abandoned by his parents in a cardboard box because they considered him a bad omen after his father lost three fingers in an accident before his birth - was brought to the city on a visitor permit. Chow came forward to immigration and made her story public after hearing of the suicide of an undocumented teenage girl in the city.
READ MORE: Grandmother of abandoned boy, 12, charged with helping him overstay in Hong Kong for nine years
Principal Magistrate Andrew Ma Hon-cheung passed the suspended sentence after Sha Tin Court heard a plea from lawyer Hectar Pun Hei and several letters in mitigation - including a touching message from Youhuai.
