{
  "id": 11628264,
  "title": "Prison term ‘karma’, says Hong Kong man freed after 26 years in Philippine jail",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/prison-term-karma-says-hong-kong-man-freed-after-26-years-in-11628264",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-03T07:00:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post - Hong Kong",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post-hong-kong",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3369640/prison-term-karma-says-hong-kong-man-freed-after-26-years-philippine-jail"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Hong Kong bartender Tang Lung-wai, 55, was released from a 26-year prison term in the Philippines on Tuesday after being freed due to good behavior. Tang, who was arrested on his 29th birthday in the country, initially spent years fighting drug-related charges, insisting on his innocence. He maintained that he had been framed but acknowledged that holding onto resentment was counterproductive. Tang considered his imprisonment \"karma\" for his past transgressions, such as ignoring his family and betraying friends and girlfriends. He claimed his time in prison taught him how to be a better person and, once he completed his sentence, he felt he had repaid his karmic debt.",
  "summary": "On his 29th birthday, Hong Kong bartender Tang Lung-wai boarded a flight to the Philippines for a holiday that would change his life. He ended up spending 26 years in jail in the country. Now 55, Tang spent years fighting his drug-related charges, insisting that he had been framed. But he told the South China Morning Post that he did not view those lost decades solely through the lens of…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "ABC News AU",
        "title": "Australian arrested for holding 'pistol-like object' in Hong Kong",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/australian-arrested-for-holding-pistol-like-object-in-hong-kong",
        "published": "2026-10-03T04:13:48.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "Prison term ‘karma’, says Hong Kong man freed after 26 years in Philippine jail",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/prison-term-karma-says-hong-kong-man-freed-after-26-years-in",
        "published": "2026-10-03T07:00:16.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}