HK stews tough

[ALostTexan]

Is that $37,000 in your jeans or you just happy to see me...

[my miss storm cat]

It's interesting to read this so long after the fact.... and quite sad.

Something that lasted for months, the intricacy of it all..... the Egen connection (jockey who was accused in HK and never returned creating the "need" for the HKJC to change the manner in which they act), the Andy Lau connection (elderly businessman who - like many there - lavished gifts upon those in good favor. Don't laugh... when Brett Prebble won on Bullish in Japan, the trainer, Tony Cruz, bought him a Lamborghini. The HKJC subsequently said a gift that expensive would not be allowed). Daswani... the go-between, the rumors of phone taps....

I mean to read this account or "account" is like saying man O' War was a Horse, David Lynch is a director, Gabriel Garcia-Marquez is a writer. No background here and if it's meant to stir up sympathy it doesn't do a very good job.

Nothingness..... a succession of words that don't tell any of it, that only tell what we already know and have known.

Shame on them.

I don't want to say if i think he's guilty or not. I almost always take the side of the accused.... innocent till proven guilty, right?

Not always though but even still..... sometimes mistakes are made out of stupidity, boredom, temptation.

He was caught with quite a bit of cash but even that... there's a restriction on how much cash one can take out of HK.

Looking back though, all I really can say is that my heart goes out to him now and to his family, that we all make mistakes, and that HK can become... how do I word this? The jocks that go to HK suddenly have such culture shock..... riding on Wednesday (Happy Valley) and Sunday (Sha Tin) and all that temptation and time the rest of the week... money being tossed around like confetti on New Year's Eve, businessmen who had once dominated the no-longer-corrupt HKJC playing nicey-nice with the newly-arrived... I doubt any of us can truly understand the lifestyle changes and the line between right and wrong becoming blurred and possibly non-existent.

Oh well..... my long way of saying that piece was a joke and mere filler and instead should have gone into one of the most interesting and complex international racing scandals of our time.

No matter what i think of Munce, I'll choose to look for and search out the good in people and remind myself that even those who are guilty are not always criminals.

Okay I'll shut up now.....

[my miss storm cat]

Forgot to mention the other theory.....

Lau handed Muncie the cash in a hotel lobby right before he left for the airport.....

I know one person anyway who insists this was a set up. Just thought I'd mention it.

[my miss storm cat]

Update for anyone who cares...



Jockey Munce bids for jail swap
(no author listed)
Tuesday, 17 July 2007:

Jailed Melbourne Cup winning jockey Chris Munce could serve the rest of his sentence in NSW if a prisoner swap with Hong Kong is approved.

The Daily Telegraph reported the NSW Justice Minister John Hatzistergos has given "in principle" support for the plan to see if the disgraced jockey can return from Hong Kong.

Mr Hatzistergos sent on the application to federal Justice Minister David Johnson, the top Australian official who can approve the exchange deal, saying Munce has more of a chance at rehabilitation back home.

The Sydney father of three young children has been in jail since March after being sentenced to 30 months' jail. The 37-year-old was caught in a tips-for-bets scam a Hong Kong corruption commission exposed.

http://www.racingandsports.com.au/ra...asp?NID=108061
* * *

Don't think it'll happen.....

[my miss storm cat]

update, FoxsportsAU.....

Jailed jockey home in three weeks
By Ray Thomas
August 31, 2007 JAILED Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Chris Munce will be escorted by two guards when he returns to Australia next month after a prisoner exchange deal was successfully negotiated with Hong Kong.

Sources confirmed that Munce will be home within "the next two to three weeks".

The deal between the Federal Government, the New South Wales Government and Hong Kong authorities was finalised recently and Munce is likely to serve the remainder of his sentence in a NSW minimum-security prison.

The only stumbling block was who would foot the bill for two NSW Correctional Services Officers required to be flown to Hong Kong and escort Munce back to Sydney.

The Iemma Government baulked at the estimated $10,000 cost as it felt taxpayers should not have to pay for Munce's prisoner exchange.

It is believed Munce's wife, Cathy, subsequently raised the necessary funds and has forwarded payment.

Munce, the 37-year-old Sydney father of three young children, has been held in a Hong Kong prison since March, sentenced to 30 months for his involvement in a tips-for-bets scam after a Hong Kong ICAC investigation.

Federal Justice and Customs Minister Senator David Johnston and NSW Justice Minister John Hatzistergos successfully negotiated Munce's prisoner transfer deal.

Australia has a bilateral treaty with Hong Kong for the transfer of sentenced persons, which entered into force in Australia in April last year.

Hatzistergos said last month he was influenced in making a decision in Munce's favour as he believed the jockey had more chance of rehabilitation if allowed to serve the rest of his jail term closer to family in Australia.

"Prisoners are more likely to be rehabilitated when they can serve out the remainder of their sentence supported by their family and friends," Hatzistergos said.

"These considerations are especially apparent in this case."

There has been a lot of sympathy for Munce and his family since the jockey was sentenced in Hong Kong.

In most racing jurisdictions around the world, Munce's actions would be interpreted as a breach of racing law and would not have been tried in a civil court. Prosecutors claimed during the trial that Munce provided tips to Hong Kong businessman Andy Lau 17 times covering races involving 29 horses from December 2005 to May 2006.

[my miss storm cat]

http://racing.scmp.com/freeservice/n...ws20070901.asp

[my miss storm cat]

The eagle has landed. Munce is back at home...

I mean in custody, but he's home.