Hong Kong: A Hong Kong beautician has been sentenced to four years in prison for deceiving two friends and trafficking them to a notorious scam compound in Myanmar, where they were held captive until their families paid a ransom.
The District Court in Hong Kong sentenced 33-year-old Poon Sum-yi on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. Judge Adriana Noelle Tse Ching described her conduct as cruel and said a substantial sentence was necessary to deter similar crimes.
According to the court, Poon orchestrated the scheme in December 2024 by persuading her friends, Peng Xinying, an unemployed woman, and Liu Bingbing, a part-time model, to travel to Thailand. The two women had initially been invited on what they believed would be a leisure trip to Japan or Canada.
Poon subsequently told them she had arranged tickets for a short trip to Thailand, departing on December 27, 2024. She also promised them payment for transporting 48 million baht, equivalent to approximately US$1.42 million.
After arriving in Bangkok late at night, the women entered a vehicle they believed would take them to their hotel. Instead, they were transported towards Chiang Mai and eventually taken across the Thai-Myanmar border by armed men.
Their captors confiscated their belongings and transferred them to KK Park, a Chinese-run scam compound in Myanmar’s Myawaddy township. There, a man known as “Rabbit Chief” reportedly demanded US$500,000 for their release or ordered them to help the syndicate defraud wealthy overseas Chinese.
The victims remained confined for nearly two weeks before their relatives paid the ransom.
Judge Tse said the victims had endured severe fear after realising they had been kidnapped and could not seek help. She also highlighted a legal gap, noting that although Poon was prosecuted for fraud, the case involved human trafficking, for which Hong Kong lacks dedicated legislation.
