Chinese trio avoid jail after attempt to smuggle husband and boyfriend
The trio were behind the arrival of a boatload of Chinese nationals found near a remote air base in Western Australia's far northern Kimberley in 2024.
Three Chinese nationals avoided immediate jail time for their involvement in an unsuccessful attempt to smuggle family members into Australia. Shuyan Hong, Zhongfang Zhang, and Shuai Sun were sentenced to three-year suspended jail terms by the Sydney District Court. The trio was found guilty of their role in the 2024 people smuggling venture near Mungalalu Truscott Airbase, 500km north-west of Kununurra.
The Australian Border Force apprehended the group, but Hong, Zhang, and Sun successfully evaded detection by walking directly into the air base without being intercepted. The court heard that Hong's husband and Zhang's boyfriend had previously applied for tourist visas but were rejected. During sentencing, District Court Judge Mark Williams explained how the trio set off from Sydney on March 30, driving 5,000 kilometers to the Kimberley to meet an Indonesian fishing boat arriving with the husband and boyfriend on April 5.
Due to flooding, the boat could not reach the area, and Sun was unable to reach the destination and remained in Broome. Hong and Sun were later intercepted by the Australian Federal Police near Wagga Wagga after returning to Sydney. The maximum penalty for the offense is 10 years imprisonment or a fine.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
